Nihilarian

This!

If the Bills had Alex Smith or Kirk Cousins at QB this year they beat the Jags, contend for the division and perhaps even make it to the SB. Both QB's passed for 4000+ yards. Smith had 26 TDs, 5 INTs. Cousins had 27 TDs, 13 INTs. Just from a turnover standpoint, I'd take Alex Smith over Cousins and he should be cheaper. 17 mill vs 19 mill and Cousins will get 25 mill this year IMO. I think the Chiefs would be so very foolish to get rid of Smith.

Indeed it was! To lose to a QB like Blake Bortles was the worst. I believe the Bills can build a championship defense in time. It's the offense that troubles me with the likes of Dennison/ Castillo running things. Good stuff HBF thanks for posting!

Who might that be? I really don't like what I've seen from Peterman under this OC. Nor do I like the run game coordinator/line coach in Juan Castillo as both took steps backward.

Man, the stuff you write is misleading. Like to embellish a bit, huh? In his fifth year in the league Young started in exactly three games in 1989 throwing 8 TDs, 3 INTs. One game Young started was against the 1-15 Dallas Cowboys and the next game was against the 4-12 NY Jets. The last game he started in was against the Buffalo Bills who went 9-7 in 1989. Steve Young went 9 of 19 for 166 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, one rushing TD while taking 4 sacks in that game against Buffalo. Tyrod like numbers if you ask me! That 49er defense was killer and got 5 turnovers against Buffalo that day. 5-5 is a team stat huh? QB Steve Bono went 5-1 that season. The 49ers weren't particularly good in 1991? They went 10-6 that year and were in their dynasty years since 1981. That year they did miss the playoffs for only the second time since 81. They had won super bowls in 88, 89 under both HC Bill Walsh and George Seifert. They won another SB in 94 with Young at QB. The 49ers and their brilliant WCO offensive scheme even managed to make Jeff Garcia look good for awhile under their third HC in Steve Mariucci. You glossed over my entire point of what would have become of Steve Young had he stayed on bad teams his entire career while not having Jerry Rice to throw to. Young got the benefit of sitting and learning for a few years in an innovative passing scheme under one of the games most brilliant NFL offensive minds ever! A scheme that is still used widely in today's game. Steve Young was tutored by HC Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan in an already established legendary offensive scheme. Tyrod Taylor has had 6 different OC's in his 7 seasons along with many changes to schemes by Rick Dennison, Anthony Lynn, Greg Roman, Jim Caldwell, Cam Cameron, Gary Kubiak. That's five different styles of offenses that I see. From what I said in that earlier post. It's not up to either of us to determine Tyrod Taylor's fate in Buffalo and if Dennison stays as OC I would be inclined to move on from Taylor to a more defined pocket passer that might better fit his scheme. I don't trust the guy to develop a rookie as we see what he did with Peterman so far. I would attempt to get Mike McCoy as OC and keep Taylor for one more season. Juan Castillo needs to go as run game coordinator/line coach as the run game went backward this season, as did the line.

I notice you left off the first part of my post in which I pretty much stated TT has some serious issues. On to your post though. That was four years of playing time usually with the same OC, QB coach. Look at Steve Young and what would have happened had he stayed in Tampa or gone to another poor team. As it was he rode the bench while playing sporadically for 4 years at SF under Walsh and then in his first year of starting went 5-5 in his fifth year and that was throwing to Jerry Rice. Young was a first-round pick, picked first overall and not a 6th rounder who was known it was going to some take time to develop him. Taylor has had how many OC's/QB coaches in his seven years? That in itself can make for a broken QB. Tyrod is a proven NFL starter who can win games provided you surround him with the right players so you can't expect him to develop at the same pace as a first round guy. Hey, the guy may never improve over what he has already shown and it will be up to his HC to determine if he wants to keep a QB like Taylor who fits his style of run first offense with a stout defense. I myself still believe he can further develop into a better player with a quality OC tutoring him and I don't think Dennison is that guy.

Lies, lies, damned lies, and statistics... We have all seen it that there are times when Tyrod goes invisible and becomes useless for an entire half of a game. We have all seen the missed receivers open waving at him. We have all seen holding onto the ball for far too long and not throwing it away at times while taking sacks. Don't get me wrong here as I really like the guy and have seen flashes of a top QB at times. The problem is it doesn't happen enough or consistently enough to win games on his own and another major drawback is the inability to make a comeback when the team is down in points. Tyrod Taylor simply cannot carry the team on his shoulders like elite QBs can. Now, that said there is still time for him to further develop under the right OC/QB coach. The late great SF HC Bill Walsh stated that it generally takes four seasons of playing before a QB fully develops and TT is going to be entering his fourth this 2018 season. What we all miss are those perfect deep bombs to Watkins called by Greg Roman that put the fear of God into DC's and CB's. Those bombs that fans just love to watch also helped open up the run game because the defense was always worried about getting burned by the big play. The Bills had some really good offensive coaches in Anthony Lynn, Arron Kromer. Looking back at those first two games in 2016 it was more of Rex Ryans defense failing than it was the Romans run game. IMHO anyway. The Bills went from #1 in rushing TD's, YPA to 15th, 14 with basically the same players. McD needs to replace his OC and run game coordinator who both look poor compared to Roman/Lynn and hire a guy like Cam Cameron as he is the man who tutored Joe Flacco and built those dominate run offenses that helped develop him. Either build a better offensive team around Tyrod with better coaches, line players, and receivers or find a QB that fits Dennison's scheme. I think the former would be the right move.

Disappointed perhaps, not upset. I realize that great teams are built in stages and usually takes a few years to build a playoff contender. Doing this well this soon gives me hope that this regime will build a solid playoff team to contend with not only NE for the division title but for a Super Bowl.

That is very true. It is also true that in 2013 the team had QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB Tavaris Jackson, QB Matt Leinhart, QB Matt Flynn, QB Thad Lewis, QB Jeff Tuel along with Mattboy Kevin Kolb all on the roster at some point that offseason. Of all those QBs Doug Whaley chose to keep rookies EJ, Tuel, and Thaddeus Lewis on the final roster. Lewis who actually had one game start in a losing effort for the Browns in 2012. The simple fact is that Whaley chose to go into that 2013 season as the GM with basically three rookie QB's on the roster with no veteran QB to help guide them. No QB coach whatsoever and the only guy they were all learning from as OC had never previously been an NFL offensive coordinator or an NFL QB coach. So, is it any wonder why those three Bills QBs finished the season with QBR (EJ 41.2) ( Lewis 23.0) (Tuel 12.8) No real NFL GM would have allowed this to happen.

This stuff is almost as good as the Bills making the playoffs this year! To think that the Patriots stranglehold on the division might finally be over is great news indeed!

EJ was, in fact, Whaley's choice at QB because he personally scouted him and after the draft stated as much in a team video. He was "all in on EJ". To make matters worse he traded two first rounders and a fourth for a WR to help his choice at QB. What really gets me is right after the team drafted Watkins they said they were still looking for that big, tall red zone target!! As far as Rex Ryan goes let's not forget that Russ Brandon also had some influence in the Ryan hire by telling the Pegulas to "not let him leave the building." If Whaley had not wanted to hire Rex Ryan he should have made that point heard and instead went along with that choice. On another note, anyone else recall Whaley drafting EJ and then not bringing in a veteran QB or a veteran NFL QB coach to help his choice at rookie QB properly develop and learn the NFL ropes. EJ's only mentor was an offensive coordinator who had never been an NFL OC. Not to mention that the Oline he built was with 5 mill per guaranteed for OG Chris Willams who was the worst line player on the Rams the previous season and lasted a whole 3 games for Buffalo. OG Doug Greg Legursky was another bum brought in by Whaley. Besides the lack of people to help develop the QB how moronic is it to draft a rookie QB only to have him start behind a woeful line. Whaley had no freaking clue about anything other than defense. To quote Rotoworld on the Bills 2013 Oline: While Fitzpatrick was error prone and lacked starting-caliber arm talent, his quick release masked up-front flaws that may be exposed with painfully-raw rookie E.J. Manuel under center. http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nfl/43265/179/2013-offensive-line-rankings?pg=3 As far as the 2017 Draft it was McD who made the final selections for players to draft and Whaley, scouts set up the board. For an NFL GM, Doug Whaley made a lot of foolish, stupid moves that should have seen him fired much sooner then he was. Should Polian have been hired by the Pegulas after they purchased the team he stated one of his first moves would have been to replace Whaley. Perhaps the Browns will hire Whaley for some position in their front office like they did for that idiot Grigson. Bills fans should be rejoicing with the old regime gone and what this new regime has already accomplished.

Yep! It looks to me like benching TT made him feel like a red-hot poker was just shoved up his backside and perhaps made him more afraid of losing his starting job over the fear of the opponents pass rush. People forget that week 10 TT Saints performance of 9 of 18 for 56 yards, 1 INT, 2 sacks after 3/4 of the game with a 33.6 QBR. TT was benched and Peterman came in against a very good NO defense and went 7 of 10 for 79 yards, 1 TD with a QBR of 126.7 all in the fourth quarter. It all started the week previous at the NYJets in which TT was sacked 7 times for 41 yards. That Jets game went thus- PUNT-PUNT-TD-PUNT-FUMBLE-PUNT-PUNT-PUNT-FUMBLE=FUMBLE-DOWNS-TD-TD. So, in looking back at the stats TT didn't look so that bad until you break down the drive charts and you see TT didn't do much until the last 2:32 of that game. It's my take that MCD did the right thing at the right time.

Exactly! No way he is hired as a GM by an NFL team after his record in Buffalo! BTW, it was ex-Colts GM Ryan Grigson in INDY that initiated the Hughes trade because he wanted the last first-round pick by Polian gone from the team... the idiot! Likewise with ex-Eagle HC Chip Kelly for the Shady trade. It was Rex Ryan that asked for TT and vouched for Incognito. If left to his own devices this team would still be looking for some semblance of a starting QB and the line would still be looking for a decent starting LG. I for one am grateful for the new regime in Buffalo minus Whaley, Brandon having any say in player personnel.

I just don't get how others fans don't see this as a big issue. The Bills aren't going to win a SB with Dennison/Castillo running the offense, period!

Agree with that first sentence. First of all the run game has faltered big time compared to even what Hackett was able to do by running straight up the middle 70% of the time. Greg Roman did a better job, Anthony Lynn did a better job. However, the Bills have gotten better the last few weeks but I attribute that to McCoy being a Barry Sanders clone over the play calling and line play. I'm all for the team firing both Castillo and Dennison. The argument that Dennison didn't have an elite QB to call plays for doesn't cut it for me as I believe that a coach should able to get the most out of his players regardless of their skillset. Taylor has regressed from a QBR 68.2 to a QBR 54.9 and to be honest I was expecting Taylor to be much improved this year. I place the blame on the OC/ run game coordinator. Taylor might not have been the trainwreck in some games had he had a better O line, run game coach, OC. In my view, it's up to the OC to find ways to make the offense work with the roster at hand. This year it was like Rex Ryan was running the offense in attempting to make round pegs fit square holes like he did with the defense.

I think Romo is a special player and if fully healthy he would be a great bridge QB to whatever rookie the Bills draft this year. It's clear to me that the team has no interest in keeping Taylor as the starter for next year. Unless the team signs Cousins or one of the top free agent QB's I'd make an offer to Romo. BTW, Dallas doesn't want Romo.

The one thing we don't know quite yet is if these new scouts/GM are highlight junkies or actually possess the knowledge to properly evaluate the right QB? The last batch had no clue or they would have gone after Deshaun Watson. I would rather see this regime build the team to fill the so many holes on the roster with those first six picks rather than package them all on one guy who may or may not develop under the current coaches, with the current roster. To me that would be a regime killer should the new rookie QB fail. As of today, I don't have an opinion on who I want the Bills to draft at QB this upcoming draft. I keep reading about Mason Rudolph to Buffalo though.

I agree and look at the drives in the 2nd half. 1st series, FG and could/should have been a TD. 2nd series, 3 plays -5 yards and a punt. 3rd series, missed FG that could/should have been a TD. 4th series, 5 plays, 2 yards and a punt. 5th series, 8 plays, 25 yards and ends on downs. The Bills have decent red zone targets in Clay, KB and yet can't seem to find them very often. Don't get me wrong here as I like Tyrod and had hoped he would improve a great deal this season...he hasn't! He just isn't that elite franchise QB that can compete with teams like the Patriots who have owned the division for almost two decades! 2018 free agent QB's Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford, Alex Smith all look like an improvement over Taylor as QB's who will throw the ball to receivers who are not wide open. The Bills also have a bunch of 2018 draft picks to go after a rookie QB.

He isn't wrong. While Tyrod didn't do much to lose the game he also went invisible for a half like he does in many games. I yearn for the day when the Buffalo Bills can hang with a team like the Patriots and score right along with them. Tyrod is a nice bridge QB that will work along with a great run game, Oline, defense. Once the team gets behind you can't expect him to pull out a win. He isn't Russell Wilson or even a Dak Prescott. I suspect that if the Bills had a better backup QB over a rookie that Taylor would have stayed benched. #9 & 10 are both about the current OC along with the QB. Some fans want the Bills to find a QB who will fit into Dennison's scheme. I think that is rubbish as the OC should be able to adapt to the players on the roster and build a scheme to best fit his players. The Bills need a better QB and offensive play caller. Lastly, NE RB Dion Lewis 24 carries, 129 yards, 1 TD for a 5.4 YPC avg says all you need to know about the Bills defense in this game. P.S. good job in taking over for Bill.

This is exactly right. See NE and since 2001 the team has had only one 9-7 season while missing the playoffs only once in all that time! While you may not get that super elite player like Bruce Smith right away because you don't have a top 5 pick in the draft. You can still find the Freddy Jacksons as a walk-on or a Kyle Williams later in the draft. Judging by the first few picks under McD I'm not overly worried about finding the talent as I am about this teams scout finding that franchise QB who can lead the team to a SB. I trust McD to get it right. Now to beat New England!

Ralph Wilson told John Butler, "if I can't hire you then I'll fire you"! Butler at that time was in talks with the Chargers about becoming their new GM and we all know how frugal Wilson was so he wasn't going to get into a bidding war over his GM. Wilson thought he found Polian so I'd guess he thought he could find another equal to Butler. However, It was Chuck Knox who brought his director of scouting Norm Pollom with him from the Rams and Pollom endorsed Polian to be hired. After firing Butler Wilson's next move was to hire Tom Donahoe after he was just fired from the Steelers as Donahoe had just lost a power struggle with Pittsburgh HC Bill Cowher. From Here on out it seemed like Wilson only wanted to hire has-beens, rejects and people not really qualified to be GM's. This new owner looks to have more than enough money to hire the best and brightest and he will need to do so with an owner like Robert Kraft owning the Patriots.

If you spend the draft picks to get one of the top QB's you had better have someone who can develop him into an elite franchise QB and also upgrade the line to protect him. Jim Kelly had Ted Marchibroda who taught him the playbook and also taught him to call all his own plays. Over the years the Bills haven't had either the QB or a man to develop him properly. Much less a decent Oline to help them develop as JP was always seeing/hearing phantom sackers after getting pounded on so often and Trent was concussed out of the NFL. Then considering this team passed on Deshawn Watson, I'm not so sure they can even properly evaluate a college QB as to who to select. It's for certain this team needs more than a game manager like Tyrod or even a more advanced version much like Alex Smith. Jim Kelly was a gunslinger but he also had a very solid team around him, line, receivers, coaches. He also had Thurman Thomas to hand the ball off to who was 60-70% of the offense. Be nice to see this team finally find the next Kelly. They already have the RB in Shady.

Just relax. The Jags are 8-4 and Marrone might have the #1 defense which he inherited from ex-Seahawk DC Gus Bradley. (Perry Fewell is their DB's coach) They will probably lose their DC this offseason. While Saint Doug does have Tom Coughlin guiding him...he still has Nate Hackett as his OC. As long as Hackett is his OC I don't see that Jags offense doing all that much. They have the #1 rushing attack and #24th passing attack. The Titans 8-4 under Mike Mularkey are very similar to the Jags in that they have a good running game and not so great passing attack even with Mariota at QB. they are sorta middling on both sides of the ball with Dick LeBeau as their DC. Would either of these teams be as good this season if Andrew Luck was healthy and the Colts had a decent HC or if the Texans hadn't lost Deshaun Watson for the season? The Chargers are 6-6 and in the running because the Chiefs have been falling on their face. QB Phillip Rivers is doing well and just look at Alynns assistants, Ken Whisenhunt is his OC and Gus Bradley is the DC. The raiders are also 6-6 as are the Chiefs and their next two games are the Raiders, Chargers. The Buffalo Bills are 6-6 and Tom Brady is another year older. Give McD some time to bring in a QB and some defensive players to fit his scheme. I know I didn't expect the Bills to have a shot at the playoffs in their first year under a new HC considering what the man inherited from Wrex Ryan and Doug highlight film.

I agree with this! In the past, I have vehemently condemned Jauron ( for his firing his OC two weeks before the season started, cutting his starting RT at the same point because he couldn't get to the line quickly enough as the team was running the no-huddle offense! Which they scrapped after two regular season games. BTW, that starting tackle went back to his old team and played the entire season.) I Condemned Chan Gailey for selecting his "waterbug" RB with the first pick after the team had traded away their all-pro LT the year previous and was in desperate need at LT. This same man defended Trent Edwards all preseason as his starter only to cut him after two regular season games. He then went to Ryan Fitzpatrick who did his best Mike Vick impression by running for his life for the first six games as the team started the 2010 season 0-8. Doug Marrone allowed his rookie first-round draft pick at QB to go into his first season with no QB coach or veteran QB on the roster and was supposed to learn the NFL ropes from an OC who had never been an NFL OC in his career. For an ex NFL line coach who was out on the field showing the O line players how to do their jobs, Marrone had a mess of an offensive line in his two seasons in Buffalo. Erik Pears at RG...really? Rex Ryan was a bad/wrong hire as his last winning record as an HC was four years previous. He blamed all the losing on his QB and GM, who was drafting mostly defensive players at his request. This bozo went on to take one of the premier four-man fronts in the NFL and switch them to a 3-4 while asking his all-pro pass rushing D linemen to drop into pass coverage. These are just a brief synopsis of each HCs stupidity as I could easily go into greater detail of the morons who have been head coaches in Buffalo before McD. This is by far the best head coach the Bills have had since Wade Phillips and he has had to deal with what his predecessors left him. He now knows he needs a franchise QB and that Taylor isn't the answer. The really great thing is the Bills have an extra #1, #2 and #3 pick in the 2018 NFL draft and I can see the team trading away Glenn, Taylor for more picks. Give the man a chance to build the team in his vision going forward.

I wouldn't trade Shady at this point. Glenn is overpaid. Wood is overpaid. Incognito underpaid. Let's not forget that Cleveland made that trade with the Eagles and they got Wentz. The Browns have two early first round picks this year. 1st & 8th. Another thing is that the besides the Bills the Browns, NY Giants, NY Jets, Cardinals, Denver and perhaps Jacksonville will all be looking to land one of those QBs. I just hope this new scouting staff can properly evaluate the QB prospects this year.