Estro

I'll take credit for reading the tea leaves correctly on this one. I've found that what you begin to hear from the more trusted sources on Sunday night and Monday morning tend to be the more accurate ones. The spin and deception begins once the coaches talk to the media Monday afternoon....and then you have dummies like Rappaport and Schefter fully buying into the spin by Friday and putting out their own erroneous tweets. Like I said there was no way you could 100% know it was going to be Jimmy G.....so the fact that the BILLS felt pretty certain they knew who would get the nod, I always thought it pointed toward Brissett. Now let's see if they can take advantage of this fortunate opportunity.

Another point I forgot to mention: Sigmund Bloom said he thinks it's going to be Jacoby Brissett, on WGR w/ Schoop and the Bulldog on Thursday. This is another guy that knows a lot. I stand by my belief that all signs point to Brissett

Here's what we know as of early Friday morning: 1 - The Bills coaching staff believed they knew who was starting at QB since Monday 2 - A reputable former NFL doctor who tracks NFL injuries stated that a grade 1 sprain would cause Jimmy G to miss 0-2 weeks and that a grade 2 sprain would result in a 2-4 week absence. At the time of injury (week 2), he indicated it'd be a close call as to who came back first Brady or Jimmy G. Meaning this Doc thought Jimmy G's likely return would be no earlier than week 5. 3 - John Clayton on WGR, said that although he's no DOC he believed that it looked like a grade 2 sprain that Jimmy G suffered and he'd have a tough time playing this week. 4 - Sal Capaccio tipped his hand a bit this week on WGR stating that he was surprised to see the Bills have such a "physical pad popping" Thursday practice. He then went on to reason that perhaps they were getting ready for a heavy dose of run on Sunday with Brissett as QB. 5 - Many sports books still have no line on the Bills Patriots game, indicating they are unsure what QB is playing. However, the fact that the opening line favored the Patriots by 3.5, indicates that Vegas, as of Sunday night, believed it was going to be Jacoby Brissett. With Jimmy G the line would've favored the Patriots by closer to 7 points. Keep in mind the Patriots opened as 6.5 point favorites at home vs. the Dolphins with a healthy Jimmy G. 6 - Finally back to point 1. There is no way that the Bills could be 100% certain it's going to be Jimmy G for all the reasons I've stated. When the Pats decided not to sign a FA QB last week it was clear they were comfortable at least 1 of the 2 QB's would be good to go. No way they can go into a game with just Edelman and no other QB's on the roster. With all my detective work (!) it leads me to the following conclusion: Patriots starter: Jacoby Brissett Patriots backup: Julian Edelman Clearly this is the best case scenario for the Bills. With Jimmy G playing the Bills would be about 3/1 underdogs, with Brissett they are going to be around 2/1 underdogs. Still tough to envision a win, even against a 3rd string QB, because I think their coaching staff will totally outclass ours and I'm also very concerned about Tyrod Taylor's play. I think his play has been the most concerning aspect of this season by a long shot. He is weak in all facets of the game he was weak in last year, and he seems to be abandoning the pocket quicker this year, which really has me discouraged. Let's hope he steps up big time, because he needs to play well in order for us to steal one.

This is a very good question and one I contemplated in the offseason if Sammy Watkins were to get hurt. It's why I thought the Bills would definitely target a WR high in the draft. I happened to absolutely love Sterling Shepard. You can check my all my posts about him during draft time. The Bills chose another route they decided they needed to go heavy defense.....in a league that is driven by offense. It's one of the main philosophical reasons I think there needs to be a total house cleaning at One Bills Drive. The thinking behind the way this team has been assembled is a flawed one....and it will be on display yet again today for everyone to witness.

Anybody surprised Sammy Watkins is out after tweeting late last night he's "ready to compete at the highest level". Just another in the long chain of oddities with this guy. Why the hell would you ever say that and be out? There's clearly some type of disconnect between him and the org. And if his foot isn't broke/fractured I don't quite understand how getting your foot stepped on would cause one to miss games. Can anybody envision any scenario where we win today?

I was actually thinking about Haley last week. There's no denying his offensive numbers with the Steelers. It's everything I wish we could be on offense. I also know I want our next HC to be an offensive guy. With that said Haley would be a tough call. He was so unlikable & "douchey" in KC. I can deal with that if he's a good HC, but you'd have to do a lot of work on him to be confident in pulling the trigger of him being the guy to lead the team. Their is definitely some baggage. I'm pissed we didn't hire my favorite the first time around, Hue Jackson. Still think he was the perfect fit for Buffalo, and likely would've retained Schwartz.

No especially not in Buffalo. The Bills are no where near having a playoff caliber team year in and year out. Why is that? Because they don't have a QB that is really good at passing the football. Until you have that piece in place there is no point in handing out big $$$ contracts to any defensive player. They make almost no difference in win replacement value. When a Gilmore or for that matter a Dareus miss a game the betting line for a Bills game doesn't move at all. This team needs to bottom out and find that guy that can sling the rock, then begin to worry about signing the pieces around him.

Yea if Pegula's were fooled by the allure of Rex Ryan how can we trust that they will do any better the second time around? If Whaley actually preferred Hue Jackson, maybe Whaley can be trusted because that would've been a reasonable choice, but we still don't know if that's the truth or not. Just like we don't know who actually wanted Rex Ryan as head coach. That's why I've always preferred that one man make decisions, that way that 1 person can be held responsible. When your left to guess was it the owner, was it the GM, was it the "snake oil salesmen marketing guru" Russ Brandon that made the choice it's just to convoluted to hold someone responsible.

I have to be upfront about this: I had to unfollow Joe Banner on twitter, despite his knowledgeable football tweets, because he is so liberal and anti-Trump......but with that said I read a bunch of his tweets from today and he clearly hates Rex Ryan. I think most of him are right there with him. Would he be the right guy for the job if we are to clean house. I'm not sure he is because he seems to really like Greg Roman, which is a concern, because I don't want a OC who doesn't pass the hell out of the football. Just throwing it out there. How about Kevin Kelly, the HS coach who never punts and always wins. How would he be for head coach. Joe Banner ‏@JoeBanner13 1h1 hour ago sign a player with off field issues who gets suspended. Your 1st pick had an injury. How are you shocked when 1 is hurt the other suspended Joe Banner ‏@JoeBanner13 49s50 seconds ago Joe Banner Retweeted John Kryk Classic. So if it's a mistake it's on owner not Rex. This is all so predictable Joe Banner added, John Kryk @JohnKryk Wow. @alexmarvez reports HC Rex Ryan "leaned on" by #Bills front office to whack Greg Roman: http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/rex-ryan-bills-use-greg-roman-as-sacrificial-lamb-to-appease-the-fans/1fpf513y2je6z1en0lh0lydq5m Joe Banner ‏@JoeBanner13 2h2 hours ago Joe Banner Retweeted Adam Schefter Classic Rex. Had the entire off season to evaluate this, & after 2 games fires a gd coach. Never looks in the mirror

Problem is Pegula was duped into a 5 year contract with Rex, like a fool. The whole thing was a mess. I don't have faith Pegula know what he's doing, which is why the presence of Russ Brandon is ever the more concerning because I think Terry and Kim really lean on Russ's opinions and advice heavily, which is a huge mistake. The advice Polian gave to the Pegulas is looking more right by the day. Tyrod is nothing more than a stopgap, and you're absolutely no where as an organization until you find the right QB and the right coaching staff. Right now we have neither.

100% agree. But why the pay raise this year and next year. Did Roman not have a chance to tell Whaley that Tyrod isn't very good? I mean how do you justify that pay raise.

That's the problem though Kirby. After 16 years of boring, inept and inadequate football in Western New York I'm not willing to make excuses for someone who has directly contributed to the many mistakes and bad hires the Bills have had over that time. I mean just look at the passing stats for the Bills over the last 10 years. I think they've finished just one time out of the last 10 years above top 20th in the league in passing. It's a joke. We continue to punt the football from 4th and short on the opposing side of the field, down by 3 points in the 4th quarter. Russ is "contributing" to hiring the people that are making these lame, risk averse decisions, that have a direct result in the Bills losing on Sundays. Why do we accept what math shows to be unacceptable on Sundays year in and year out. When you hire philosophies and coaching styles that still think you don't need to pass the hell out of the football and that you don't need to be very aggressive on 4th and shorts from their side of the 50 (particularly when trailing) then you are just ignoring the facts, you're ignoring the math: And that is totally unacceptable. And anyone who has "contributed" to hiring the men who have adopted those philosophies here in Buffalo does not get a pass from me, because it directly effects the W's and L's on the football field. At the very least, I wish the Bills would get with it and hire someone with a laptop to stand next to the HC, and advise him mathematically when it is wise to go for it and when it is wise to punt it on 4th and short. I'm available for hire, I'm sure Mike Schoop would love to do it. Anyone with half a brain who accepts math and win %'s would be happy to assist the Bills with data that they are simply ignoring and it's baffling. I think just that alone would do more for the Bills success on the field than this "robust" analytical dept. that Russ bragged about, that still has us near last in passing offense annually, taking timeouts on 2nd downs early in the 3rd quarte that come back to bite us, and still punting away games.

Kirby I respect the post, but you're off base IMO. Russ Brandon has a bigger role than ticket sales, sponsorships and marketing. Several people have already posted articles with direct quotes that prove Russ Brandon does much more than report to Pegula about ticket sales and marketing campaigns. He was one of 3 men in the final interviews for both the Rex Ryan and Doug Marrone hires. Both have been failures. He was a GM for 2 seasons and he was awful. He hired Buddy Nix, who brought along Doug Whaley. So like many have said, if you believe having a hand in hiring the past 2 head coaches and the past 2 GM's is simply a ticket sale and marketing campaign role you're very mistaken. I actually think Whaley had a chance to be a good GM but he has been handicapped by a "marketing guy" meddling on the last 2 coaching hires. And I would like to ask why Russ Brandon would be directly quoted by the owner to "not let Rex out of the building" in the presser following Rex's hire if he were simply a marketing and tickets guy? Do you think the "ticket maestro" should be advising the owner on the head coaching hire, under any circumstances? It's laughable to try and ignore the fact that Russ Brandon's fingerprint aren't all over the mess that has been the Buffalo Bills.

If Hue Jackson was Doug Whaley's #1 choice it gives me a lot more confidence in Doug Whaley, and a lot less confidence in the Pegulas. I already have none in Russ Brandon. When you hire a GM he should have the opportunity to pick the head coach. To neuter a GM and have some think tank that includes Russ Brandon and Terry and Kim Pegula is a joke. I'm not sure it's even a true story, but if it is, it's truly concerning And for the record Hue Jackson was far and away the best choice. An offensive coach who did wonders with Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense. 1 season of pro HC experience w/ the Raiders and finished 8-8. I've always really like his presence and I'm very curious to see how his future shakes out. He was my first choice at the time, so I'm rooting for him to do well.

I could do more for that analytics department by standing next to Rex Ryan on game days with my laptop and following the live analytical websites that tell you what you should do on 4th down......than the Bills have been able to do "building up their robust analytics department" over the last 3 years. But i get your point, I'm just as much a cynic as this team as most who have had to live through this sheer incompetence.

Russ Brandon 1 of 3 men in the room conducting our head coaching search. Russ Brandon a man who has the ear and trust of the owner (also 1 of the 3 men in the interview room) that hired Rex Ryan. Rex Ryan a coach that fundamentally believes in running the ball way too often and punting on 4th and short in the 4th quarter way too often. So look, if you want to believe that Russ Brandon is simply a ticket salesmen and that he doesn't have a big say in who our head coach is, you're a lot more gullible than most informed Bills fans. Also, if the Bills want to start playing smart football and playing the the correct %'s, I'm available for hire. I have a laptop. I follow the 4thdownbot on twitter. I have access to the win % websites, that show when you punt on 4th and 1 from the 50 yard line down 3 in the 4th quarter, your % chance of winning the game goes down. I have capabilities that can help this $1.4 billion franchise win games on the football field. Data and capabilities that this entire organizations seems willing to ignore. Enough already with this incompetence.

I find it odd that so many people seem to defend Russ Brandon when his name comes up for possible criticism. He had a big part, I would argue a very big part, in the hiring of Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley, Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan. We know for a fact that Russ Brandon was one of three people in the rooms to interview both Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan. He has been an integral part in the hires of head coaches that seem to have an allergy to passing the football. The head coaches he has hired also love to punt on 4th and 1 from the 50 yard line. The last 2 coaches he's had a big part in hiring love the idea of running the football, punting, and playing the field position battle. So please let's not act like on Sundays when we watch an incompetent offense and a painfully conservative, risk averse coaching staff that it has nothing to do with Russ Brandon. It most certainly does. Do not fool yourself........Russ Brandon has the ear of Terry and Kim Pegula. I've attended many home and away games, and I've seen with my own eyes the relationshop between Russ and the owners. Who is the one who leads both Terry and Kim out onto the field? Who is the one that introduces them to NFL owners, broadcasters, announcers and the like? Who is the one who's gotten a huge promotion and his role expanded under the leadership of the Pegulas? It's Russ Brandon folks. I think being critical of Russ Brandon is not only fair I think it's totally warranted. I've been looking forward to the day for a long time that he's relieved of his duties in Buffalo. I was hopeful that day was near when the Pegulas first took over ownership. Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. The Pegulas leaned on Russ Brandon big time in their first search of a head coach, and then double downed and handed him a big time promotion. I hope they realize their mistake sooner than later, but it appears we will have to endure many more losing seasons before anything happens.

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I think that there's an argument to be made that we were. This is an offensive driven league, and we will squarely be dead last in offense after week 1. This was a vintage Bills game, though, had all the markings of the last 15 years. Dink and dunk offense, terrible penalties, awful timeout usage, which came back to bite them at the end, and less than 125 passing yards. It's really bad. But Rex told us that was a really good defense we went against today. Please. I know what garbage smells like, and that was garbage today.

Pretty surprised nobody drafted Shepard in your league. He will be a beast. One of my favorite players in the 16 draft. If it's keeper league he's an even better pick up. I see him being a 90 Catholic type receiver by next year

He's proven to be pretty average. I wouldn't expect much more than that. Players getting a lot better due to "experience" isn't totally false, but it happens much less frequently than the media and the puff pieces would have you believe.

I don't understand the disdain for Schoop. He's my favorite guy on WGR. He sometimes irritates callers because he's quick to disagree and get into arguments, but thats whats sports talk radio is about. I think he's intelligent and he gives you the "dirty" truth that you often times won't hear. If you want a bunch of rosy colored updates and propoganda you can tune into the John Murphy show.

Let's hope he really grows into his new job as sidekick to John Murphy on the John Murphy show because he's brutal right now. Seems like a good dude, but right now it's tough to even listen. On a side topic, I think WGR is losing a good one in Matthew Coller. Always appreciated his opinions. I feel like I know the game better after listening to his points. The exact opposite of John Murphy.

So your logic is Whaley signed Incognito and drafted Darby so he shouldn't have included language in Darues' contract that protected the club monetarily against a boneheaded decision? If that actually makes any sense to you, more power to you. I happen to think that language should have been included, regardless of who the team drafted or signed prior to that. The two things have absolutely nothing to do with one another.

If I'm the owner, my expectation would be that my GM and whoever is responsible for contract negotiations be extremely prudent with my money with the goal of building a winner. Whoever was responsible for the Dareus contract negotiations (Berchtold or Whaley) failed to put very common and simple language that protected the owners $$$ against a boneheaded decision by a player who has already proven he is more than capable of making boneheaded decisions. Simply put for a player that had already failed a drug test, and already got in trouble for off field incidents........to not protect the club from a future bad decision is totally unacceptable. So the next question is who ultimately has to hold the GM and or contract negotiator (Berchtold) responsible? The answer is: the owners If I'm Pegula, Berchtold is a goner if he was the one who failed to protect the clubs money against the stupidity of Marcel Dareus. Just look at all the money Lane Johnson of the Eagles stands to lose for failing his 2nd PED test. That is because a prudent decision was made to protect the club against it. The Bills totally whiffed. And anyone who can't see that total ineptitude is looking through rose colored glasses.