jahnyc

Wow, he ripped everyone. Pretty harsh. Not sure the Pegulas deserved it, but Brandon, Rex and Whaley do.

This does not bode well for Rex or Whaley. I do not see how Whaley would or should survive if we are below .500 this year.

I was trying to make two points. First is that an evaluation of our football operations, including our front office, by an independent third-party consultant is long overdue. Second, if there is a complete housecleaning, it does not necessarily mean that it will take years to turn this thing around. Many teams have done so during the 16 years that the Bills have not made the playoffs. It can be done relatively quickly in the NFL now. I make no judgments about the long-term viability of the Jets turnaround. They do have a lot of very old players at key positions, but they appear to be drafting well recently.

The owner of the Jets retained Ron Wolf and Charley Casserly, two former NFL GMs, as consultants in connection with the hiring of a new GM and coach for the Jets. The Jets turned it around quickly, and I had hoped the Pegulas would get some outside assistance with their decision making regarding the front office and coach of the Bills. I really hope that process will begin soon, because an evaluation of the team, the coaches and the front office seems to be needed and should be done before the end of the season and the draft.

It is way early, but this team does not appear to be a playoff caliber team, not with the injuries and weaknesses that were evident on Sunday. They could be better next year, assuming that Ragland and Lawson are healthy, Gilmore is re-signed and Taylor takes big steps this year and next year. The last one is key. If Taylor improves, there will be hope. If not, than this year will be tough to watch and a housecleaning could occur at some point before or after the end of the season.

I thought it was a knee. I think he has had ongoing issues with his knees from the time before he joined the Bills.

No way we would or should tank, particularly after one game. Having said that, I just don't see this as a team that can go 10-6 or better this year. While we do have some quality players, there are too many holes on this team that can be exploited. I like Taylor, but he really needs to further develop as a downfield passer and make his reads/progressions more quickly. I don't think we have enough talent at WR after Watkins, but the passing game must get better if we are going to have any hope of making the playoffs this year.

The game against the Jets is important. Two losses to start the season to AFC teams would mean a tough road to make the playoffs. I know it is very early, but these early games matter.

I have no significant issues with the Buffalo sports reporters, unless they report things that are not true or factually inaccurate. They express their opinions, and it is up to each of us to decide whether we agree or disagree. Sure they have been negative over the last number of years, but not always without good reason. Bottom line is that it is up to the team (and the overall organization) to shut them up with a winning season and a spot in the playoffs.

I am worried about the starters on defense as well. Kind of an odd mix. Some really good, blue chip players, such as Gilmore, Darby, Dareus and Hughes and then some guys who should not be in a starting lineup. Overall, Rex has less talent this year on defense and more pressure. His abilities as a defensive coach will be tested this year.

While I agree that we have some quality starters, I think our back-ups at TE, OG, C, LB, WR, DE. and OLB are poor. One thing to support this is that the Bills have been picking up discarded players from other teams at those positions over the last week or so, such as Biermann (already cut), Lewis (C/OG), McCray (LB), and Humber (LB). Not sure why posters here are so comfortable with our back-ups if it is clear that the coaching staff and FO are not. We will see how things play out this season. One thing that continues to surprise me is that many posters seem to think we have a good group of WRs. I don't see much after Watkins. I hope I am wrong.

I think our WRs are way below average after Watkins. Goodwin may be able to make other rosters, but he needs to show that he can stay healthy. Manuel was a reach and never should have been taken in the first round. I don't think our depth has been helped by Whaley trading away some of our draft picks over the last few years.

Maybe, but our depth is still worse than most, in my view.

Our depth seems very weak going into this season, more so than in recent years. The lack of depth impacts almost every position, including, in particular, O-line, WR, TE, and LB. I also see very few back-ups that are up and coming type players, so I am not sure we will see many jumps in player development over this season from that pool of players. This may be in part due to our salary cap situation in the offseason where we did not have the flexibility to sign any quality back-ups.

It is striking how poor our depth is at almost every position, including, in particular, O-line, WR, TE, and LB. I also see very few non-starters that are up and coming type players, so I am not sure we will see many jumps in player development over this season from that pool of players.

Way too many distractions this off season and into the preseason. Sure seems that the current front office is more willing to take chances on players with some stuff in their past than previous front offices. There have been a lot of unfortunate things that have happened, including injuries, suspensions, and involvement in a fight, but clearly some of it is bad luck (i.e., Ragland's injury). In terms of blame for the other stuff, seems like it should be spread around rather than assigning it to one person or group. At this point, the front office, the coaching staff, the medical staff, and the contract negotiators should all be on some kind of notice that they individually and collectively need to shape up.

This could be a one time thing based on the specific circumstances of this situation. A friend from Pittsburgh told me that Bell changed his cell phone number and never received the call for the random drug test (and apparently there was evidence to support this).

I think it is a real issue, and given the amount of guaranteed money in the contract (which I believe is significant), someone should be fired over this if ownership was not fully aware of the concession, ramifications and lack of precedent in other NFL player contracts.

If no other team agrees to this language, especially with regard to a player that previously has been suspended, than it is worse than egregious.

Looks like we get some relatively minor cap savings because of the suspension for base and bonus that otherwise would have been payable to Dareus over the first four games of the regular season. Do we know if this translates into immediate cap savings (and available for use now) or does it happen over the course of the first four games of the season?

Not sure what to make of this team. The Bills have a lot of holes on offense and defense, but they also have some very good players. On offense, the WRs are weak after Sammy and the right side of the o-line is probably one of the worst in the NFL. At TE, there is not an adequate number two or three after Clay. On defense, our linebackers are very weak, and I am not sure who is replacing Mario. Overall, there is little depth on the team. On the positive side, we have some very good players. Sammy, McCoy, Clay (fragile), Glenn, and Incognito are all very strong players. Hopefully, Taylor will continue to improve. I also have confidence in Roman to improve the offense. On defense, Gilmore and Dareus should be stars this year if they can stay healthy. Same with A. Williams. Darby was great last year and hopefully that will continue this season. I hope Hughes has a better season and K. Williams is healthy. A real mixed bag, but probably not enough to get us to the playoffs this year.

Partial tear of the ACL?

I think the Pegulas may want continuity, but if the team ends up with an under .500 record, they decide to do something. What that something is, who knows. Could be Whaley and/or Ryan getting fired, or maybe the hiring of a football czar (finally). The possibility of near term firings likely will be foreclosed if the Bills make the playoffs.

I may be in the minority on this, but if the football front office staff and coaches think that Foles would be an upgrade over EJ, then the Bills should pursue Foles. Not a knock on Taylor, but his style of play does concern me in terms of being healthy for a full season.

Mr. Blue Sky-- ELO