Dr. Trooth

1) Near consensus top 3? By who? He wasn't ranked in the top 10 by espn or bleacher going into the 2012 season. I find no ranking of him anywhere that puts him in the top 3. Please point me to that. 2) As I mentoned, he's not physical. He is not that good when he drops down in the box or against the run. Check out the type of safeties Pettine used in Baltimore & NY. They were essentially linbackers on slimfast... and big hitters... especially at the los. Byrd does not fit that description and is not a good fit for the new atta king scheme.

No. That's not why they stink. The reason they stink is they haven't had an owner that is committed to winning and providing a dynamic and current infrastructure to support that. As a result, they continually overpay players that do not perform anywhere near their contract. ie. Kelsay, McGee, Merriman, Fitz, etc. What they are particularly abysmal at, is when they do allow a player to leave in FA that has been solid for them, they do not fill that void with a player anywhere near close to the level of performance that they let go... and that is gross incompetence. In the case of Levitre and Byrd. Let's be real, how high are their ceilings? And how well do they project into the new schemes? Levitre's void could easily be filled by moving Glenn inside and drafting a LT early, or simply signing Brandon Moore for much less. Byrd hasn't played up to rookie season. He's also not that physical, and as evidenced, Pettine's defense places a higher premium on physicality over coverage ability and ball hawking... ie. Leonhard, Bell, Landry. He wants players that attack, hit, and strip. The key is, if the Bills let either or both walk. That won't be a sin or a huge problem. The sin and huge problem will be if the Bills don't fill those voids with players that do not perform at least as good or better. That will be a quick signal that the Bills are the same ole Bills, committed to losing.

Anyone believing it is koolaid should not drink any before October. At least by that time you'll have a decent idea of what you're drinking. As far as the "youth" movement... on the surface, at least, it's a dramatic change. Everything about the Bills, from the owner on down has been old school and seemingly way behind the rest of the league. Old coaches, old ideas, no forward thinking, just recycling old ****. Can't inspire young athletes or even get their attention. We'll just have to wait and see where things go. Don't drink the koolaid. Not yet.

Based on incentives, Moats doubled his salary this year. Scroll down the list. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/browns-quarterback-colt-mccoy-added-1-75-million-194838554--nfl.html I hope Pettine finds the right spot for Moats. He's been jerked around from the 3-4 to the 4-3 and is really only suited for a 3-4.

Anyone that believes that one can accurately evaluate any defensive player new to the Bills in the past two years is totally stupid. Wanny & Edwards were an absolute disgrace as defensive coordinators.

They're magnificent

Well, if they don't win, how do they fill the seats? We know what's in it for the Bills, but what's in it for Rogers?

We don't know if Bills have lost Levitre yet. Several options. Glenn to LG, draft G or LT, re-sign Rhinehart. We know the Bills will field an aggressive and physical front. That may not be the best fit for Levitre. The chips fall where they fall. If it's a matter of cap space, Bills can clear enough space by dispatching Kelsay, McGee and restructuring a contract or two.

Thanks for acknowleding my superiority. Whether Fitz sucks or not is irrelevant. It s not that I know better than the Bills brass... it's that I know exactly what they're gonna do. And they aint gonna let Fitz go in early March. And, Marrone doesn't want Fitz around? Really? Well, WTF are his options for this up coming season? Apparently, you can't seem to figure it out that The Bills cap hit is the same whether they cut Fitz or not. Apparently you must be either OK if the Bills don't resign Levitre & Byrd or never even considered it. Like the Bills are going to have cap space to sign those two, others, draft pix, plus some fairy tale FA QB that you've imagined.

It aint a question of what offense you put Fitz in. It comes down to two things... supporting cast and a defense. The Bills defense continually and repeatedly put the offense in huge holes, which took the offense out of their game plan and allowed defenses to pin there ears back. Clearly the Bills had only one receiver, a TE that has no ability to stretch the defense, problems at both tackles all season, little depth at the skill positions, and a coach, for whatever reason, that underutilized his most potent offensive weapon (CJ). PS... The Bills are not going to release Fitz. There is no cap advantage and there is no FA out there that is a significant upgrade over Fitz. Not only that, if they got one, they'd have to overpay him. That's throwing away good money after bad money. Media and bloggers that suggest Fitz is getting cut are only looking at it purely from a $$$ perspective and nothing else... least of which is that if they cut Fitz, they have no QBs on their roster. That's unprecedented. No team has ever entered the offseason with no QBs on their roster. That alone is a clear signal that media and bloggers have their heads up their asses when it comes to Fitz and the Bills.

You buying that Wilfork is 325? Ted Washington was listed at about 325. He was probably more like 360. And, I'll bet Wilfork is about 350.

Finally some sanity. Refreshing to know there is someone out there that 'gets it'.

1) Why would he agree to a restructure? What's in it for him? Cur him? Bills got no QBs then. A fith rate chump QB just cost the Bills triple what he'd get anywhere else. 2) Backup? Backup who? What QB do the Bills have that he is going to back up?

Hmm. Levitre, Byrd to sign, and in addition, Alex Smith? How would the Bills pay for that? Why would any QB come in to play for 1 year. Alex Smith had a good year, but like Fitz, he doesn't go down field... he also had a damn good defense plus Crabtree and Moss. Give any QB that and they are going to fare pretty well. Put Smith on Gailey's Bills, is there really a dime's difference in he and Fitz or the results. Smith was managed very tightly the past two seasons, but still could not hang on to his job. I doubt he wants to play behind a young gun again.

We all pretty much agree that Fitz "sucketh". I get that and I'm not going to argue that. However, I'm looking at this purely from a realistic perspective. We all know Fitz is due $3M soon. And, there seems to be a lot of "wallers", prognosticators, and so-called media experts that believe Fitz will be cut soon. I don't buy it one bit and here's why. The Bills gain a minute cap benefit in 2013 by cutting Fitz now... it's essentially a near wash on the cap. He counts $10M against the cap if he's cut and 10.45M if the Bills keep him in 2013. By cutting Fitz now, it would leave the Bills with zero (0) QBs on the roster (I apologize to those of you that are offended by me not regarding Brad Smith as a QB, but stay tough and you'll get over it). Does anyone really believe the Bills would leave themselves that vulnerable at QB given their situation. I mean, really, do think that having no QBs on their roster would not be a clear advantage to any (yes, any) free agent QB or team that wanted to move/trade a QB to the Bills. Do you really believe the Bills would give away that kind of leverage? Really? The other part of the reality is that it is well publicized the Bills will be drafting a QB in Rd. 1-3. If it turns out to be in the 3rd, do you believe the kid is gonna be ready. Even if it is Rd. 1 or two, do you believe the kid is gonna be ready now? Even if the Bills get their guy at #8, the best odds are about a 50/50 chance he'd start day one... and that's if he doesn't hold out or get hurt in training camp (remember JP collision with Troy Vincent in training camp ??). Who steps in if that happens? Like it or not, the more reasonable approach and probability is that the Bills will keep Fitz for 2013. They know what they have and they "Billieve" they can milk it for one season with him. You may recall, his new OC was Fitz QB coach for his 4 starts at the end of the 09 season, so, there is a history, and who knows, there may be some level of comfort for both guys. I foresee the coaching staff starting Fitz to begin with regardless of who they draft and when. I also believe a much greater emphasis will be placed on the running game and bringing in a big speed receiver and a couple of tight ends (ya... ones that can get open and catch and ones that they will actually throw to). Those are clear needs regardless of who the QB is. Plus, a defense that does not put the QB in crap situations will be a huge game changer and also take some heat off Fitz. The 2012 Bills defense was one of the worst in its history. Hell, if the defense improves to just 14th in the league and more emphasis on the run with Spiller, and the WR/TE additions, that's good for at least 3 more W's if Fitz is driving the car. I can also see the Bills bringing in a journeyman QB for some semblance of insurance. Perhaps a Seneca Wallace or David Garrard... or someone of that ilk that will accept their role and salary. I would be stunned if the Bills cut Fitz at this juncture and if it doesn't go down somewhat this way for 2013 and the coaching staff then gauges Fitz's effectiveness in deciding if/when to send him to the bench. 2014 will be a different story. Fitz may either have to take a pay cut or be cut loose after 2013. But, I just can't believe the Bills would leave themselves so vulnerable at QB, and with a new staff.

Good luck. What team would want to rent him for a year coming off an acl?

Just an fyi. After two years as an NFL starter, the rap on Tom Brady was he lacked accuracy and touch on deep throws. He made a virtual living dinking and dunking for the better part of three seasons. Look at tape of Nassib from Syr games. He can throw the ball 70 yds. None of his receivers had NFL deep speed, so it aint something he's done a lot. He has the arm, he is accurate, he has the footwork, mobility, pocket presense, competiveness, size & toughness. And, if he has 10" hands, then he's on the upper end of the curve. He benches over 400 lbs., probably making him the strongest QB in the draft. He's also from the Northeast (PA) , so he's familiar with the climate At the next level he will master the deep throw. Whether that is in Orchard Park, KC, Jax, Philly, or some other venue will be determined 3 months and some change from today.

I don't buy it for one nano second. He probably pissed away $39m and needs some revenue. He's a lazy bastard and dispassionate about football. And to prove it, some team is going to bite and sign him to a minimum wage contract and he will end up being cut before the season because he won't put much effort into getting into shape or studying and grasping the mental part of the game. It's exactly why Vince Young was umemployed this past season.

Ah yes. Another rating based on what criteria? The two best professions to be in is a writer or meteorologist. They can espouse anything they want, always be wrong, and never be held accountable. Hell, even if the Bills were to win SB with Marrone, not one single person will look back on this rating, or any other articles this author whiffed on.

You just might want to temper that Trestman love. If the opposite of what you believe occurs, you could be on the other end of the gloating. Personally, I view Trestman as the offensive version of Dick Jauron. He's the oldest of HC hires and with only a single HC gig in the minors.

The mistake was in hiring Gailey at all. He's an offensive guy all the way and demonstated over the past three seasons he either didn't have much interest or much knowledge of the totality of the game of football, thus that is why he hired incompetent guys like Edwards & Wanny. At least Marrone stated up front he's the head coach and he aint calling the plays. However, he will be in charge of game planning and the offensive, defensive, and special teams strategy will go through him. He'll have the headset on him for defense and offense. Seems to me the guy might be interested in the game as a whole, not just a single phase, as has been the case with the past 5 Bills head coaches. He also isn't married to a partcular scheme of a defensive or an offensive system.... but both will be aggressive and physical and will use the skills of the current players to their and the team's advantage.

A few extra comments. Define exhaustive and thorough! If, in your hc coach search, you're on the road, in interviews & meetings 18 hrs. a day over 5 days, what do you call that? There were 8 coaching vacancies. Of the 8 HCs kicked to the curb, only 1 got an HC gig in the NFL. Obviousy, Lovie & whiz weren't #1 on any NFL team's list. There were at least 3 teams that passed on McCoy and at least 2 that passed on Kelly. We don't know who passed on Marrone because it went down pretty quick. But Mort reports Marrone was #1 on at least 2 other teams, one being the Chargers. Trestman was only # 1 on the Bears list after 3 weeks and the Bears apparently didn't want McCoy. Trestman, at 60 yrs. old, was the oldest of the new HC hires and is parallelled by some with Levy simply because of his age and CFL HC gig.... which is bs because in addition to the CFL, Levy had an HC gig with the Chicago Fire and KC Chiefs. My perception of Trestman is that he is the offensive equivalent of Dick Jauron. We'll all see where that goes. Now, let's assume Marrone was hired by one of those two other teams that Mort reported. Would Marrone's selection of assistants be any different? And, would be there be any suggestion it was a move to be part of a regionalization strategy? But, because Syracuse is 3 hrs. east, where Marrone & a bunch of assistants coached, there are automatic conclusions drawn regarding regionalization. Like the Bills didn't already have a solid fan base in the Auburn, Syracuse, Utica, Albany corridor.

Mind you, he's done nothing illegal. But 6-7 different stories tells one something. He's in it up to his eyebrows, is a pub hound, just building his brand and loving every bit of it. As far as his future in the NFL... well, anyone bearing witness to his ass getting flattened time after time by a running back in the championship game should have an idea. We ain't talking about an average performance here, we're talking about a horrendous one. At best, he'll be average at the next level.

I'll say it again.... ain't no wins and aint no losses in the offseason. We don't know what we've got. Would you buy a house without being certain of it's structure, quality, the investment it may need? Same thing with the Bills. By the beginning of October we'll have a good look at what this team is and where it is going. Until then, don't sip the koolaid, don't buy tix, don't buy Bills merchandise, because folks, you don't know what the product is that you are buying. The Bills FO has put it up our a$$es for the past 13 years. Make these bastards work their a$$es off and earn back our trust and confidence. There is only one way to do that.... Ws.

Introvert my ass. Teo's a pub hound and is behind the whole thing. Just building a brand.