2020 Our Year For Sure

Schefter is a graduate of one of the top journalism schools in the country and has authored three books. Before NFL Network he was with the Denver Post and before that the Rocky Mountain News, and covered the Broncos for some 15 seasons. Sports Illustrated once named Schefter one of its "Power 40+," a list of the most influential people in or around the NFL. He is a former President of the Pro Football Writers of America. If he isn't reputable, I don't know who is. How about the San Diego Union-Tribune? How about another former President of the Pro Football Writers of America, Mark Gaughan? http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2013/01/chargers-liked-marrone.html "The San Diego Chargers had a strong interest in Doug Marrone and might have tried to sign him if their coaching search was in position to act, league sources told The Buffalo News over the weekend. [...] The Chargers are searching for a general manager and a head coach. The team has stated it intends to hire a GM first." "The Chargers had a Saturday night dinner with Marrone, the Union-Tribune reported today. 'The Chargers were extremely impressed with Marrone, [...] but he appeared to have already made up his mind by the time he met with the Chargers,' the paper reported." "The bottom line is the Browns had interviewed Marrone and all indications are they were very interested. Obviously, this doesn't mean Marrone is sure to succeed. Once upon a time Charlie Weis was a hot coaching candidate. But the Bills had reason to move decisively once they agreed Marrone was their man." Marrone also had a meeting set up with the Eagles that was cancelled when he agreed with Buffalo. While we don't know anything until the bullets fly, it would seem NFL executives with their reputations on the line have a high opinion of the Bills coach.

Yeah, really. Adam Schefter said as much on Twitter and numerous times on ESPN, and I venture to guess he knows a bit more about which guys teams wanted than you do. Russ' connection with Marrone from Syracuse probably had something to do with a sought-after coach actually choosing the Bills.

6'4 320 lbs according to bb.com. This site lists him at 6'5, 346. They say 19 bench press reps and a 5.49 forty at the combine, though they say he ran as fast as 5.22. Seems like he's slimmed down and could be a fit for the up tempo. http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/profile_display.cfm?prospect_id=2276

It can be a bit disconcerting to learn that you can't necessarily trust your own thoughts. Very easy to slip into denial or put on the blinders.

Thanks Doc

There was a thread that got closed where folks were saying Rogers beat Gilmore today. Anybody know where that was reported?

When Buddy had unquestioned authority and he needed a MLB, he drafted Kelvin Sheppard. This year we get Kiko Alonso. Two players who couldn't be more different from each other, both on the field and off. We had a different philosophy in this draft than we have in the past-- we went for guys with athleticism and a chip on their shoulder as opposed to smarts and character.

I don't think Buddy's been in charge of this team ever since Ralph stepped down and Russ stepped up. For whatever reason they wanted him to be the face of the organization to the media for awhile. But I will always believe that it was Brandon that hired Marrone. When the hottest coach on the NFL market chooses the Bills, you can bet that his prior relationship with the President had something to do with it.

It's not just a WCO. How will Kolb do with the run n shoot elements? K-Gun and New Orleans offenses will be part of what we're doing. Offenses built to attack deep. I suspect the short passing game will be a means to an end to open up the vertical game.

Look at Donnie Henderson getting his guys ready to go, I love it. Does Duke Williams start at SS?

Good post LV, I'm starting to lean this way too. If necessary you can always alter your offense some in order to cater to what Manuel does well and is ready for.

He's so good in his routes that it doesn't matter to me if he has lacks elite top end speed. He's always a deep threat because he can beat just about any CB you put in front of him. There were times he got open deep and Fitz couldn't get him the ball.

He's not a lock. He showed nothing last year outside of straight-line speed. It's clear they don't just want speed, they want versatility. For example, Goodwinn isn't just really fast, he's also a good blocker, a good route runner, and catches the ball well. Those areas were all question marks for Graham coming out of school, and continue to be. He had 7 drops and 31 catches last year so he dropped over 20% of catchable passes. He was acquired without this coaching staff's seal of approval so we don't know how high they are on him. Nelson and Jones weren't released, their contracts expired and the Bills let them go. Dickerson and Easley still being here certainly doesn't make them locks to make the roster.

No, he played poorly even for a rookie. Dropped passes, failed to memorize the playbook and where to line up, route running is still a concern as it was coming out of school. And playing for a coaching staff that emphasizes versatility he needs to show he can run precise routes and be useful in more ways than just fly patterns. He has a lot to prove and a lot of talented, versatile players to compete with.

What is your favorite color?

I don't think that Graham was able last year to dispel the questions during the draft process about his hands. He had 7 drops and 31 receptions while Brad Smith had 0 drops last year (though only 14 catches). I think that if this coaching staff was super high on Graham they wouldn't have prioritized adding two wideouts early in the draft the way they did. If we have Stevie and Woods and we're in love with Graham, it would make sense to look at a different position in the 3rd round. It doesn't seem like the coaches are 100% sold on him is all I'm saying. It's true they want speed but they also want versatility and precise route running. Graham has a lot to prove. A lot of guys make their biggest improvement from year 1 to year 2 and the early word on Graham is good, so we'll see if he can answer some of the questions about him. I wouldn't say he's a lock though, he needs to show significant improvement over last year. There's a lot of talent at WR.

Earlier in the offseason I was down on Brad Smith but now I think he can be a useful 3rd or 4th WR. He was the better receiver than Graham last year. Gailey had Smith practicing as a quarterback-- allowing him to focus solely on being a WR will help him. And in an offense that'll have west coast elements, his ability to run with the ball will create yards after catch. I could see the WRs being Stevie, Woods, Smith, Goodwin and Rogers (if he doesn't raise more character concerns), with Graham potentially getting the axe.

This makes it sound like they're not too far apart. It's very unlikely that 7M is the Bills' upward limit, both sides are playing the game. It looks like they'll meet at 8M or a little more, which seems a good deal for each side. It's taking a little longer than we would like because Parker is good at this.

At that first OTA or minicamp or whatever it was reported that first team reps had Dareus at nose tackle with Branch at DE. It confused me some because I thought part of the reason for signing Branch was to put him on the nose and allow Dareus to play his natural DE position he played in college. Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't see Marcel as a space-clogging NT, but more an athletic penetrating lineman. I wonder if playing out of position might hurt his chances for a breakout year. Obviously Pettine knows what he's doing a whole lot better than I do, I'm just wondering what thoughts are out there.

I'm pleased with our hire of Marrone but I do think Lovie deserves another HC job in the NFL. The guy went 10-6 last year. As will always be the case with a defensive HC in today's NFL, the OC he's paired with is of vital importance, but he's a good football mind and a good leader, I see no reason why he can't continue to have success. Norv I'd want no part of.

What is the point you're trying to make here? Every coaching hire and player acquisition represents a risk. From a certain point of view you could say a GM's job is nothing more than taking on a series of calculated gambles. I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary in this department, outside of maybe Nate Hackett.

Awesome! I'm getting the feeling this team will have a lot of fight to em.

How do people figure we'll be worse than last year? Based on 6 wins last year and an improvement in coaching on defense I'll say about 8-8.

:lol:

#1 in your cyph!