BarleyNY

Yup. Penalties and rewards are given out fairly and the only factor is how well the player is performing. No favoritism based on salary or who brought the player in. Dog it and you're going to lose playing time, get fined/suspended, be benched or even be traded. Commit stupid penalties or do something else that hurts the team and see the list above. If you work hard, keep your nose clean and improve, then you'll earn opportunities. A lot has been made of Rex in that he doesn't hold his players accountable. He hasn't. But he's gone now and there is some concern with Whaley in this regard. The new coach will be a bit hamstrung with some of the top paid players in this regard. Dareus' contract has been particularly concerning. With all of the guarantees and early money there's just not much the team can do when he screws up. I hope we don't see another contract like that going forward.

Thanks for digging up and posting the info in this thread, Bobby.

Dunno. I'm game to play. The stats surprise me a bit, but I don't know where he rates against the field on any of those. He gets compared to 1 or 2 other QBs on each aspect, but there's no indication of a ranking. His total stats are noticeably worse so if the link is accurate, then his outside the pocket stats must be horrible. He doesn't pass the eye test with me either. His passes are generally not accurate - and I'm not just talking about the incompletions and interceptions. Those that are caught are generally not placed where they should be. And lastly, e's not utilized as a passer nearly as much as a typical NFL QB. He's not seeing the defenses that a typical QB sees. With the Bills running so much he doesn't see defenses keying on pass coverage like most QBs do. If he threw more, his QB rating and similar stats would not be as good as they are. Lynn is aware of all of this. His lack of confidence in Tyrod has been evident. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Tyrod pass on opportunities to audible out of man coverage and 8 in the box. The throws have been there so many times, but he either didn't take the opportunity or he wasn't allowed. It was one of the most frustrating things about watching the Bills this season. Well, that and watching Tyrod take forever to get out most of his passes.

You're assuming Lynn is getting the HC job and then putting a longtime HC in as his DC. Man, that'd be rough on him. He'd always be looking over his shoulder. Fisher won't want the job anyway. He can milk his contract extension for a couple years until a primo job opens.

Gotta be honest, I see Taylor as between average and terrible. (Spoiler alert! There are also below average QBs.) He's helped by his running, but that's not sustainable and his passing game is seriously lacking. Both recognition and accuracy (except for his deep, sideline pass) are substantially below average. So is his ability to consistiently throw from the pocket.

I agree on all counts, but I don't think it's in the cards for Tyrod to be a bridge here. He's going to want to move on to the highest bidder after the Bills don't pick up his option. That's not going to be the Bills. It's very difficult for a guy who wa slimed up to be the long term answer to step back into a bridge role for the same team. Too much controversy and too many bad feelings. Just look at the reaction from many fans to what is coming to light. Honestly, it's not fair to him either.

Yeah, that's not a question that should wait until after free agency and the draft to find the answer to. Woods is a free agent this offseason. He might, but he also might understand that it's likely only for one season. Kujo is a FA after next season and it's not likely that the Bills carry two large LT contracts. You could trade one of them (Kujo), but then you need to find a replacement at RT. I do like the idea of depth, but a trade would give the team another asset to help fill that need.

I wanted Josh Doctson. He on had two catches for 66 yards before he was put on IR. We will see what next season brings for him and Lawson. I think both will have very good careers.

I'm sure willing to take that chance. He's a long shot reclaimation project for some other team. He'll get signed somewhere, but he'll have to improve to earn a spot on a 53 man roster.

Disagree. Tyrod isn't worth his upcoming contract, but he is still the best the Bills have got. Playing him was the Bills best shot at the playoffs. Ow that that ship has sailed it is smart to bench him. Makes perfect sense.

Before I knew who I wanted to marry I could've still told you a lot of names of women that I didn't want to marry.

Obviously the marketing department was told to keep him out of the video. That's not their fault.

Bortles' mechanics are a total mess. He's nothing more than a reclaimation project that this point. His regression has been stunning, especially since he looked to be improving for awhile.

I don't think it's working fine, I don't think many players think it's working fine (see Watkins, Sammy) and I doubt Lynn thinks it's working fine. A 31st ranked passing offense is not "fine". If I were Lynn there's no way I'm rolling with Taylor. A better passing QB is need #1 on my list.

Correct.

It's to indicate to other teams that he was not playing to his maximum ability late in the season. It's a simple "Hey, he's better than what you saw late last season. He'd have done better if not for the injury (and due to crappy coaching)." Doesn't matter how true it is or isn't. His agent wants teams putting the blame for the problems with Taylor on the injury (and coaching). He wants them thinking Taylor can be a quality starter for them - and he wants to get him paid like one. If the injury was serious, then we'd be hearing about how the Bills are going to be on the hook for his big bonus. But we're not.

1. I don't think the Pegulas botched the firing. Rex was going to try and win the last game, which meant starting Tyrod. Whaley and the Pegulas wanted to protect themselves from the injury clause and make sure Tyrod didn't get injured. The HC decides what players start and play, not the GM or owner so Rex had to go. Realistically Taylor has no trade value with his current contract, but I guess you never know. 2. EJ gets the start and Cardale likely gets time on the field. It'll be good to see how he's coming along. As for Lynn, I'd think he has enough to do this week. I'm sure he'll get an interview, but it'll be after Sunday. 3. Pettine is a good DC, but he's not HC material. Word from Cleveland is that once the veteran players figured out he was in over his head and didn't know what he was doing, they tuned him out. Thus his quick exit.

Yeah, we don't need to do that again. We can just agree to disagree here.

Why would Lynn keep Tyrod? He's obviously okay with not starting him today. Why would Tyrod stay? Please refer to this post of mine:

Yeah, I hope his mascara is waterproof.

The Bills will have a new HC in place long before Tyrod's bonus is due (3rd day of new league year). So theoretically the new coach could want him retained, but I don't see that happening. The new coach is going to want his own guy, not the last coach's guy.

I don't think Whaley tries to bring Tyrod back under a new deal, but it is feasible. Here my question: Why would Tyrod come back? Are the Bills going to offer the most money? Because he likes it here so much? Let's not forget that the Bills will be pulling a huge contract out from under him and that he just got benched from not only the last game of the season, but also from the last week of practice. How do you think he is feeling about that? Oh, and the coach that wanted him here and made him the starter just got canned.

Just to clarify, the game you're talking about is the one they needed to win, but lost. Sorry, no bonus points for "essentially" winning anything. No way does a team undermine their starting QB by sitting him unless he's injured or they're resting him in week 17 to protect him for the playoffs. Neither is the case here. His benching is to protect the team from the injury guarantee in his contract. There is no other logical reason.

EJ is gone. Taylor is gone. Gonna have to deal with it at some point, people.

True, except that clause is standard in HC contracts.