Wayne Arnold
-
Posts
5,565 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Gallery
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Wayne Arnold
-
-
of course, but it's our fans, not to mention he has worked for us for two years. If you're a negative fan, you hate the prospects of Lynn being HC for this team, because he would be Whaley's puppet, because we did not interview other people, because Lynn isn't high profile and so on.
I urge people to see his coaching credentials and what people say about him, besides, he took a system that wasn't his, adapted on the fly and made it work. Yes, there were some awful plays here and there, but the overall job he did was impressive. He had a top 10 scoring offense with Tyrod Taylor as his QB.
The fans who leave will come back when the team is winning and act like they were always on board.
You can't make organizational decisions based on what the majority of fans think. Especially not Bills fans.
-
As for the punting bit, so many people here and in the media trashed Rex for punting. I could defend either decision. It is ironic that the team that won the game and who gave up more yards than the Bills did on defense actually punted in OUR end of the field.
Did they punt with 4 minutes left in overtime when a tie eliminated them?
And for the record, I was relieved when the Dolphins decided to punt. That should tell you something.
-
Except that since Patricia became DC in 2012, the Pats have had a very good D. Rex claimed it, but except for 2011, the Pats have actually had a top-10 D on points since 2006
Patricia is an interesting guy. First off, Belichick is a little different from some HCs with expertise on one side of the ball. He delegates. So his OC and DC are real. Several Pats and former Pats players have commented on how they would hardly see Belichick during the week. That said, he clearly oversees every aspect of the Pats.
Second, Patricia actually started on O! He was an OLman in college, and started with the Pats as an offensive assistant in 2004. He switched to LB coach in 2006 and became defensive playcaller in 2009 and DC in 2012. So he's a real product of the Patriots system, but he knows both sides of the ball. He clearly wants to be a HC since he interviewed for the Browns job last year.
The tight, long-time association of Patricia with the Pats is both a positive and a question mark. He ought to understand every aspect of how their organization works. That's good. The downside is, how much of that organization can he implement on his own? It's easy to think you know everything about how a system works, but when you're trying to replicate a system on your own, sometimes you learn you don't know as much about the critical underpinnings as you think you do. The other possible "gotcha" is when a guy has only worked in one system, sometimes he only knows one way to get things done and can't easily distinguish between things that are essential to success and things that actually could be done several other ways. How flexible is he?
Pats defenses before Patricia:
2007 - #2 score percentage / #11 DVOA
2008 - #9 score percentage / #17 DVOA
2009 - #3 score percentage / #14 DVOA
2010 - #12 score percentage / #21 DVOA
2011 - #16 score percentage / #30 DVOA
Under Patricia:
2012 - #8 score percentage / #15 DVOA
2013 - #7 score percentage / #20 DVOA
2014 - #13 score percentage / #12 DVOA
2015 - #6 score percentage / #12 DVOA
2016 - #1 score percentage / #16 DVOA
I don't have much to add to this except I find it incredible how good the Patriots are at keeping the opposition out of the end zone. Year after year. Only once (2014) in the last ten years have the Pats' defense not overachieved with regard to score prevention. Both before and after Patricia. It's really amazing. And proof that while they won't be as consistently dominant after Brady retires, as long as Belichick is there they'll still contend for the playoffs every year.
-
Thank you. The Bills fanbase could use some more optimism. All this doom and gloom is pathetic and not even reality.
-
That sort of organizational model lends itself to being a leaky sieve, especially if you have "lifers" who are mourning the "good old days" and deeply resent any attempt to change the organizational culture or structure (I believe the "Whaley's gone rogue" Fredex cut was an example of changed structure causing resentment in people left out of the loop)
Isn't it funny that many of the same fans / media members blasting the Bills for the leaks are the same people who blasted the Bills for not informing everyone and their mother that Freddy was being released.
-
and remember when Ralph was alive and all we wanted was a rich owner who spends money?
That's why I just smh at all the idiotic fans giving crap to the Pegula's. They are spending everything it takes to win here in Buffalo. They're trying. That's all you can ask for.
And they're new to this team ownership thing. There's no college course that prepares you for owning an NFL franchise. They're learning from their mistakes right now and will get better with time and experience. Get off their backs, folks.
-
I would never take McDaniels. It's easy to be a successful offensive coordinator when you have a hall of fame quarterback. I would would love them to get Matt Patricia. He is one smart dude and has been working under Belacheet for some time now and understands what it takes to win football games.
How can you say that about McDaniels but think Patricia "understands what it takes to win football games"?
Even if we pretend that Patricia not Belichick is the brains behind their defense - Patricia doesn't even need to have a good defense because the Pats' O is so good year after year.
Both are likely just riding on Bradichick's coat tails.
-
Rooney Rule - plan and simple. I'm beginning to think Lynn will get the interview for HC but the Bills have someone in mind and possibly have him ready to ink a deal.
Could it be Coughlin? Maybe, maybe not.
I'm not really a DW fan anymore but I don't believe he's stupid enough to retool the team with a HC that has 1 game ever under his belt as a HC.
It's one thing if you don't think Whaley will hire Lynn because of his lack of experience or whatever. But to write him off as a token "Rooney Rule" candidate is disrespectful and pretty offensive, frankly.
-
The owners actually wanted to keep him. They just didn't want to give him an extension when he still had 2 years left on his contract and hadn't earned one. Does that mean they "didn't like him"?
Marrone isn't easy to like. But they weren't going to fire a coach coming off of the franchise's first winning season* in a decade.
You're right that he didn't show enough to earn an extension. Marrone confused effort with results, saw an out in his contract, overestimated his attractiveness as a HC candidate and thought he could at least land the Jets job. As a result, he took a chance and left. And it backfired...at least temporarily.
-
The problem is that these guys let their personal opinion get in the way of how they played. Many of us see it on a smaller scale in our work places. An employee doesn't agree with management. Instead of sitting down and working through things, the employee does passive aggressive things to show displeasure. We all got to see poor tackling defenders out of place and sometimes juts not trying. Sad when you consider what they get paid.
It might be a little of that but I just think in the end Rex's scheme was a horrible fit for the defensive players that were here. And Rex isn't intelligent or talented enough to properly adjust.
Whaley should have recognized this prior to watching the Pegula's hire Rex and do everything he could to convince them it was a bad idea. Instead what he likely did was passively sat back and watched it happen - never fully on board - and when things went bad knew he had a "Told ya so" in his back pocket that he's using right now.
-
Here's what one #Bills defensive player told me when I asked about Rex Ryan getting fired this week: "That was music to my ears." Welp.
https://twitter.com/TyDunne/status/814622656397975552
I wonder who that was. I'm guessing Hughes.
Also...
A lot of players loved Rex's bravado, but many more never were never "All In" with his scheme. Felt like he tore down the best thing going.
-
Bortles can't even throw a spiral. Not even kidding. He's a train wreck.
-
Of course Notre Dame fans don't want him. They think Top 10 finishes are a birth right.
Bills could do worse.
-
His plan IS Cardale Jones who is a WINNER and will start in 2017.
-
Watch! They are going to hire Lynn as HC. It will be akin to Darcy hiring Ron Rolston, and it will be Whaley's ticket out of town.
"All of this only worked to deepen the divide between coaches and the personnel staff. So the result is GM Doug Whaley surviving, and Ryan going; the fact that Whaley is leading the search is being perceived in the building as no mistake. His charge is not just to find a good coach, but one he can work with to build a more structurally sound football operation. And that’s why the feeling is that it’s Anthony Lynn’s job to lose. If the burden for Whaley is to find someone he can work with efficiently, it’s a lot safer to go with someone you know rather than someone you don’t."
Lynn would likely be the smartest hire.
Fans don't like smart hires - they like BIG SPLASHES!!
-
oh, i don't know....off the top of my head...
1. Are you responsible for the leaks that started after the oakland game?
1a. (when he inevitably stammers out his denial) Since only a tiny number of people could have been involved in that decision, who did it?
2. Why didn't anyone in the organization take questions after rex's firing?
3. Why was Anthony Lynn told to sit Tyrod.
4. Were you on board with Rex's hiring? His firing?
5. Do you think the Bills recent draft history has anything to do with the current record?
6. In retrospect, would you have done the Watkins deal? The Lawson deal?
and before you start, don't tell me when i need to have any of these questions answered. coaching changes are a big deal and the people in charge should be willing to step up and answer for them when they happen, not a week later. the fan's that fill that stadium year after year while they continue fielding garbage deserve that.
although, given that are a committed shill for management, you probably think everyone should just shut up and be happy there is still a team here.
The painfully awkward stumbling and stuttering on Monday will be epic.
-
I suspect you and I have a fundamentally different view of what the media's proper functioning in an informed democratic society is. If you approve of organizations shutting out the news media and instead opting for in-house propaganda outlets, more power to you. I for one think that this approach is a freaking blight on public culture in this country (and not just here). Yes, it's just a football team, but they are representative of broader trends. Exxon, for instance, would prefer not to have to deal with the NY Times investigative reporters because, hey, what's in it for them? Better to have their own house media or outlets like Russia Today. An occasionally hostile media is a bedrock foundation of democratic society. I care more about that than Bills ticket sales. But you are welcome to your opinion.
Good post. People shouldn't lose sight of this.
-
My other take on this matter is this:
Why couldn't Anthony Lynn handle those straightforward questions? We all knew what the real answers were. Why couldn't he give them? There aren't any secrets to protect really. Give the real answer, or just say "You'll have to ask Doug on Monday, Im just here to talk about the Jets game".
If he struggled at all, that's on him.
I don't think Lynn struggled at all. He was honest and solid with his answers.
-
I agree. I'd add that I think that when it comes to ownership, this falls on Kim, not Terry. If you're to believe the narrative, Kim is the shotcaller. IMO, she strikes me as a person who's comfortable with being the owner so long as there are softball questions and press junkets with nice photos but relies heavily on Brandon/Whaley for the football "details."
A problem occurs when relatively straightforward situations (like explaining why you fired an under-performing coach or why you don't want to risk $30 million dollars) spiral out of her control due to the substantial professional shortcomings of both men.
I think the behavior of the press is a manifestation of the weak leadership. You have no owner or GM who's out there explaining what happened and telling it how it is. Instead, they throw a woefully unprepared for the moment Anthony Lynn out there and you get a lot of inconsistent stories.
If Whaley can't do it and Brandon doesn't want to do it - they should hire a Press Secretary just like the White House does and have him or her be the "face".
Agree 100%. That's my concern with Kim Pegula. They claim she's at least co-owner if not the main owner of the Bills, yet she won't go in front of the media. That's a problem. This is the NFL. It's basically part of the entertainment industry and being out in front of the media is a big part of the job. That expectation doesn't go away, and won't go away if you pretend it's not there.
-
I agree with Sully on his take.
This was an opportunity for Whaley to demonstrate some leadership and be there at the press conference, explain the Taylor issue, take the hard questions and act as the lead in to Lynn - a guy who's been the head coach for all of ten minutes. Leaders don't hide in the office.
One of the reasons the Bills have a reputation for being a sloppy organization is that whether it's the Pegulas, Brandon or Whaley, the four of them become downright invisible when they have to face any sort of criticism or remotely tough questioning.
It's football we're talking about. Not brain surgery. Not a Mars mission.
I think the toxic situation we're seeing now is the result of both (a) the Bills are screwing up by not being out in front of the media to handle a few questions AND (b) the local media are over-reacting and being petulant children about it.
Whaley doesn't want to answer questions because he's an introvert and hates being the center of attention and probably figured, "Meh, I have to do it on Monday anyway so what's a few days?" Brandon likely isn't answering questions because the Pegula's don't want the public thinking Brandon has anything to do with what happens on the football field. And the Pegula's aren't answering questions because...I'm not sure. Maybe Terry is busy fracking?
-
Depends on your perspective. Personally, I think they were a year too late. They wasted a draft and FA period on a lame duck coach I could see from a mile away, as well as another offseason to put the Rex scheme in place.
The bandaid needed to be ripped off immediately and the switch to a 4-3 made swiftly after 2015. Rex was done, it was clear from the Redskins game last season he inspired no one on that defense and we saw it time and time again this year.
In hindsight yes but I think it was fair to give Rex at least another season to get the defense to rebound. It's a really bad look to fire a HC after only one year that isn't 0-16 or 1-15.
-
I suppose. I look at Marrone who took a bad offense and great defense to 9-7. Yes offense was his specialty, but they didn't have nearly the talent level of the D. Meanwhile, they got Rex who neutered a very talented defense, unlike Marrone who played ball control and field position with a not so talented O.
So basiclally, Rex took a high potential D and crushed it. Marrone took a low potential O and kept it there. Makes him way better, IMO. And that's on the Pegulas.
The Pegula's realized their mistake and cut it out before many believed they should have. I can respect that. To me, that shows their not hesitant to own it - which is a positive quality.
-
Rex would rather be liked than respected.
-
They need to release tyrod taylor he sucks and is not a good qb
Another hot take.
Casserly on Lynn
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
But that's what makes arguing with strangers on message boards so enjoyable.