Lurker

Give him the frigg'n "Football Tsar" job...he obviously knows Rasputin.

I loved Thurman's reaction to the news that Marrone opted out.. Too funny... https://twitter.com/thurmanthomas/status/550426775478890498 They wouldn't care. The contract terms pass to the new owner, so Ralph's proxies never gave up anything. BTW, these clauses are typically written into CEO contracts as "insurance" (with respect to the CEO) against "change of control events" such as company sales (i.e., where the new owner decides to shiittcan the previous management)...

Exactly opposite of what Cimini said (go figure)...has to be agent-driven leakage: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/48254/latest-on-jets-coaching-search-bowles-reich-on-deck

Always a lame excuse for those who spend significant time on TSW... http://www.capitalbay.com/football/291089-report-bills-talk-to-ex-cards-coach-whisenhunt.html http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20130101/sports/130109942/1126 http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2013/1/4/3835792/buffalo-bills-coaching-candidates-ken-whisenhunt-background

Another beaut: http://www.oleantimesherald.com/sports/article_7ef6cace-598b-11e2-a15d-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=print "He said it without sounding a bit phony and with an impressive degree of sincerity..." Even better: "He added, “I’m big on talking to the players first and I don’t want to talk to the players on our team through the media. I want to make sure that we’re sitting there in a room, as a team, and explaining to them exactly what our expectations are. I’m looking forward to that and I think that’s important." Should have added, "...then again, having the PR staff forward a mass e-mail to the team works well, too..."

This just in: owners are more powerful than employees (coaches), regardless of how "in demand" they think they are. I suspect a very pissed Pegs might prompt his 31 other "partners" to perhaps look a little unkindly on St. Doug at the moment. Not saying he won't get a job, but it's not a smart bargaining strategy to think "I'm so talented they'd be a fool not to hire me..."

Uh...maybe to learn something. Maybe you will, maybe you won't. But it's better than sitting on an opinion... http://biblehub.com/proverbs/18-2.htm

Google's your friend...try it sometime.

Speed interviewing...it's the latest thing!

I was just Googling around and found this gem of an article...it's a real hoot! http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--bills-vow-doug-marrone-will-make-them-winners-200622445.html "I approach it as I like the challenges," he continued. "I welcome the adversity. I like to deal with issues quickly and I like to be straight. I think sometimes conflict is not a bad word. Getting angry is not bad. Suppressing those things, that can get you in trouble." I'm a fan of Brandon's, but the folks who want him gone will find plenty of fodder here as well...

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2013/1/2/3827014/ken-whisenhunt-buffalo-bills-rumors-interest-high http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Buffalo-Bills-interview-Ken-Whisenhunt/db1561ca-0e45-4a9e-9dc6-4804395294e8 And this gem... http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/01/report-russ-brandon-fond-of-ken-whisenhunt/

Peter King's on board with Shanny (from today's MMQB): http://mmqb.si.com/2015/01/05/nfl-los-angeles-rams-wild-card-weekend/8/ I think if I were the Buffalo Bills, this is exactly what I’d do: Hire Mike Shanahan. Keep Jim Schwartz with an extension and a raise. And trade for Jay Cutler. Shanahan is the one who found and drafted Cutler and got him going on the right foot in Denver in 2006. The defense is ready to win playoff games now (not just qualify for the postseason), and it’s time to sell out to try to get the big-armed quarterback, who is scarred right now but still far better than the alternatives, to give Buffalo a legitimate offensive chance.

Although Leo sounds like he was hungover when he wrote that column...

True. But we didn't even start to hear about the front office shake up until a week ago. The A.J. Smith talk was probably going to heat up after Polian was signed, but was being discussed internally with Pegs who may have left it slip with Marrone. It's all conjecture, but maybe Marrone saw the writing on the wall for having less rather than more say over the roster...

Highly motivated, I'm sure. I just hope there's a QB that can get him the ball...

Maybe it was the thought of A.J. coming in as GM that made Marrone bolt. Doug would have had even less say over personnel, given Smith's ego and track record...

Here where the QB play comes in: On down and distances of 10+ yards, Beckham was targeted 76 times and caught 53 balls (70%). Sammy was targeted 62 times with 32 catches (52%). That speaks to QB accuracy and protection time, both of which Buffalo had problems with...

That's 2.8 more targets a game, from a much more accurate QB... Another thing to think about--with Beckham, the Giants were only 4 and 8...meaning they played from behind in many games, which would have helped pad the passing stats. Two-thirds of his targets, catches and yards were in losses, six of which were blowouts (by 8 points or more).

ODB's came in 12 games vs. Sammy's 16... Beckham: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BeckOd00/splits/#advanced Watkins: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WatkSa00/splits/

I believe Buddy was on a one-year "consulting" contract (i.e., I'll give you my opinion on the SEC kids) and was always headed back to Tennessee after this season, regardless... http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/columns/story/2014/feb/26/nix-still-earning-his-keep-with-the-bills/132780/

I'd say Buffalo because of the limited number of legitimate media outlets. The Buffalo Snooze and.....the Buffalo Snooze. The BN gets to drive the conversation and buzzing flys like 'GR are just an afterthought. NYC's vastly larger media market has so many "voices" that it tends to drown out the "conversation" to the point it becomes background noise.

Man, why did't you give a disclaimer that that was a Sully piece. Now I gotta go and wash my eyes out...

Probably because the Post readership would stop buying the paper if they actually published thought-provoking news...