dave mcbride

Well, the season is on the line, flat out, so I wouldn't be thrilled. They will be annihilated by KC with whoever they start.

Um, they beat a healthy and very talented Cowboys team ...

I think that injury argument is -- frankly -- BS and essentially sophistry. I don't buy it for a second. But I agree with you that it is minutiae. How was that not a prevent D, btw? They played soft zone the whole way down the field and had two deep safeties on the final possession (not the first one). Or so it looked to me.

How is the "trying-to-avoid-injury-in-a-laugh-worthy-blowout defense" dangerous to players? Please explain.

They all do. They don't want to get fired. Anyone who has followed the Bills over the years knows what happens when the city and media turn on you. Christ, Mike Mularkey fled the town! Marrone up and quit. The alleged straw that broke the camel's back re: Donohoe's employment was fan-related! Buffalo is a pretty hostile environment compared to other cities - it's a combination of passion and constant losing. Making the playoffs and then getting rid of the qb doesn't set them up well if they struggle next season. Don't get me wrong - I am sure they have their issues with Taylor and want to see what they have in Peterman. I also think that their interest in the latter stems from the realization of how bad the defense actually is. They need to address that.

I was one of those who was really unimpressed by him last season. I was wrong! That said, the entire offense had a massive upgrade, with Whitworth being the most important one. He has dominated.

Maybe for a team like the Steelers, but not for a team like Buffalo, which has not made the playoffs in nearly two decades. There would be a PR problem if they jettisoned him after a playoff season, especially if they get worse next year. That's a recipe for a third-year firing if they don't get it together. The Saints D was in the injury prevention defense. It was 47-3, for chrissake.

He did it a mere four weeks ago against Tampa! Look, he's not great, but no one ever said he was. I hope Peterman turns out to be great, but if the Bills get blown out by SD (who have the best DE pair in the league right now) with the season on the line, questions are going to be asked. Taylor takes a lot of sacks, but he gets out of sure sacks more than any other qb in the league.

I disagree, largely because I personally think that Taylor is going to be a better player than Peterman will be for the remainder of this season. Call me crazy, but I am not sold on a marginal pick who has not played a meaningful NFL down in his life coming into the the final part of a season to save the day. I know Peterman has his fans, and that's fine. But I'm trying to be reasonably objective here, and it is the case that Taylor has led the team to wins more often than losses despite mostly bad defenses throughout his career here. He is not great, but he is certainly more qualified at this point. Btw, this whole "teams have figured him out in the last few games" is a joke. Post-bye, in the three games prior to the Saints game, he played OBJECTIVELY well. Here are the numbers: 69 completions in 100 attempts (69 percent) for 718 yards (7.18 ypa); 4 TDs/0 INTs; 2 rushing TDs, and one total turnover (fumble v. the Jets). His rating in those three games? 102.9. Are the numbers everything? No, but they're more indicative than a lot what of the commentators on the board think they mean. This narrative of teams figuring him out has to stop. Yes, he had a horrible game against NO. But you know what? Every qb in the league not named Brees, Rodgers, or Brady does. Did anyone watch Dak Prescott on Sunday? Mariota last night? Roethlisberger when he threw five picks vs. Jax? I honestly think that some on this board don't watch other teams with any regularity.

No offense, Dog, but I think this is crazy. If they were to make the playoffs, subsequently jettison Taylor, and settle into 6-10 next year, the optics (as they say) would be horrible. They are aware of this. Don't ever discount managers' sense of pr and how it relates to perceptions of forward progress or the lack thereof.

All cool, and thanks.

I wasn't impressed either, but the steelers d is great and he had to play them in pitt on a short week. That's a tough challenge for anyone.

I get your take on 26, but i am going to press you: you issued a matter of fact question, and it sounds to me like you decided beforehand that anyone who answered in a way contrary to your own views was worthy of snark. That's just not cool. There are a a ton of nfl fans on this board, and with regard to the rams there are a lot of fans of wade phillips plus a bunch of people interested in the performances of woods, watkins, and goff (because the rams traded a ton to move up and get him, and the bills may be in the same position to do so next year).

Why would you be snarky to me when all I do is provide a matter of fact response to a simple question? What is your issue? Why so angry? Why lash out?

I disagree. I think this makes a ton of sense and is a rational move by the Bills given that they've decided to dump Taylor. Watch the Florio clip for more info on this. btw, Vic has been a lot more right than wrong the past two years despite what critics at the time said.

Regardless, it's a very good take by Simms. Bear in mind that I regard getting to the playoffs this year at 9-7 as the equivalent of back to back super bowls. This is a really good discussion that will satisfy all sides in this debate. Florio takes the side of the Taylor skeptics and is quite articulate; Simms criticizes the organization from an informed perspective.

I follow them.

No one said it was exceptional. The 1999 offense was not great, but it was at least decent relative to the league that year.

Back to the topic at hand: watching the Steelers tonight, it is abundantly clear how little talent the Bills have. The Steelers are loaded, but TN has a lot more talent than the Bills too.

Did you actually watch the week 16 game against NE? Because if you did, you wouldn’t have written what you wrote above. It was a biblical downpour and windy to boot. You are also unique in criticizing a player for a low number of attempts. Also note above what I said about that Ravens game skewing the stats and the defense they were facing. Arguably the best ever in league history.

EJ was not by "all" accounts a first round pick -- at all. Rosen and Darnold, on the other hand, are not late bloomers - they have been touted as first rounders long before their final college seasons. The same can't be said about most of the people you mention above (especially players like Weeden and Ponder). Locker, and RG III are the only ones. And let's not forget that RG III did have arguably the best rookie season for a qb in league history.

Yeah, but you kinda need a Rex to get through to a guy like that. It's one of the things he was good at (although it didn't work with Enemkpali) ...

I felt that the Bills were a very bad matchup against Jax, which outplayed the Bills in a bunch of games in that era. Bizarrely, TN had Jax's number that year despite being a worse team (Jax was hands down the best team in the AFC that season). I feel like the Bills would have struggled and probably lost in Jax no matter who was playing QB.

That's actually not really true. He played well late in the season, for one. But in his most memorable outing that year - the game against Baltimore (game 8) in which he pulled off remarkable last minute heroics to win the game despite awful statistics - he was up against a defense that most were unaware of how good it actually was (they hadn't been a great D in 1998). In short order, they became arguably the best defense in league history. His miserable stats (18/40 for 155 yds, 1 TD, and 3 picks, 32.2 rating) in that game greatly skewed his numbers overall, but bear in mind how dominant the Ravens D was already by that season: #1 overall in DVOA ( http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef1999 ). His stats after that game were actually quite good. He did perform poorly in an important game against the Giants, but they also were killed by a failed effort by Jonathan Freaking Linton to put the game away on a 4th and 1 at the Giants 36. Linton gets that, and the Bills win. Also, bear in mind that he closed his season in a ridiculous driving rainstorm in NE in which Christie kicked a FG to end it, 13-10. He was 22-35 for 212 yards in truly awful conditions and also ran 6 times for 44 yards (no turnovers). He also led the game clinching drive. In other words, it's more complicated than you suggest.

By *all* accounts, there will be multiple first-round caliber qbs next year.