JohnC

You shouldn't be surprised with the O'Leary cut. Much of it had to do with the jam at the position. In additon, there is a McDermott bias for tall receivers. Croom is going to replace O'Leary as the receiving tight end. As much as Gunner disparages Logan Thomas McDermett is entranced with his imposing physical attributes.

With these future draft projection what stands out to me is that once you have your franchise qb on board you have so many draft options. A lot of maneuvering was done last year to be in a position to draft a qb. Now that the qb selection was made in the last draft there are plenty of directions to go in the draft. My sense is that McDermott is a defensive oriented coach which will result in him using his main assets to build a top shelf defense.

Whether you intended to or not you make a good point. As you seem to be suggesting in this league you can have inherent flaws in your game and still have short term success. But because the tape doesn't lie your strengths will be on exhibit and so will your deficiencies. Inevitably, your strengths as a player will be taken away by the opposition and your limitations will be magnified. The league caught up with Edwards and he didn't have much in his arsenal to respond. Football is a game of adjustments. If you don't have the wherewithal to respond to the adjustment you are sunk. What I find exciting about Josh Allen is that because of his imposing physical talent he has a wide array of options in his quiver that he can resort to when his first option is blocked. When discussing qbs such as Edwards, Peterman and to an extent even Tyrod their tool kits are too small to adequately respond when their first option is taken away.

You might want to consider tighter jockey shorts or always wear a jockstrap. When someone tells you to hang loose do you wink and consider it a compliment for your god given package?

You need a pedicure. Your nails need trimming.

I partially agree with what you said. I still hold that Peterman is more willing to throw the ball in the middle of the field and downfield risking throwing it up for grabs for the receiver to fight for than Trent. If you watched some of the preseason games you would have seen that he was more willing to throw into tight windows than Trent was willing to do. Where Peterman gets in trouble is when he throws the out passes (as you have noted). Because of his limited arm strength he becomes vulnerable to DBs waiting to jump the route and snatch the ball. From what I have seen so far is that the TEs are going to be utilized more than we have seen in a long time. Without a doubt Peterman is a temporary qb. Where I differ from you is that I fret less about his role than you do. We'll just have to wait for the real action to see how this plays out for him.

When all is said and done we gave up an arguable HOF OT for a solid and indistinguishable center in Wood. To compound the foolishness in the deal Marv brought in two mediocre linemen in Langsgton Walker and a heavy weight guard who couldn't move to bolster the line. After a season or two they were moved out because of cost and ineffectiveness. How anyone can say not reworking the deal and signing Peters was the right thing to do is befuddling.

The below link is a column from WGR by Paul Hamilton. It discusses the progress that Nylander is making as a prospect. If he could continue with his development and in the not too distant future make the leap forward that would be such a bonus for the organization. There are young players in the AHL pipeline such as Babtiste, Bailey and Guhle. If they can make that pro adjustment it would inject some energy in what has recently been a sluggish team. It's apparent that Botterill believes in the process/player development. That might not be a quick fix but it is the right route to go. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/amerks-taylor-happy-how-nylander-has-worked-summer

Talent wise Peterman might be comparable to Edwards. But from a willingness to make a play each is dramatically different. Edwards had this inherent reluctance to trust the play that was called and would resort to checking down. That's the opposite process that Peterman follows. Peterman actually goes with the first read and without hesitation let the ball go. That's the opposite approach that the cautious Edwards would take with his repeated checkdown (as K-9 stated). Because of his arm limitations Peterman is a limited qb. Most people would agree with that obvious assessment. But he has a good grasp of the offense and the defense that he is facing. The challenge for the team is whether because of his physical limitation (arm strength) he can be a viable option until the more physically talented rookie is ready to play. I believe so while many others don't.

For sure that is a lot of ducats for a qb who is on a short leash. But the leash isn't mostly about being replaced as it is what he is going to allow the qb to do on the field. Marrone has a history of preferring an old school offensive approach that accentuates field position and limiting turnovers. His teams always seem to play hard for win as demonstrated in Buffalo and Jacksonville. From a temperament standpoint the irritable coach prefers a low glitz meat and potato offense that stresses the running game. Doug Marrone is not a likable chap. But he did a good job in Buffalo and he nearly got the Jaguars into the SB last year. Maybe if he would have loosened up on offense against New England and not be so cautious at the end of the game his team would have been in the SB?

There were 17,959 fans at the game. Is that considered a good crowd for UB?

The usually loquacious Gunner has become the succinct Gunner. Very often brevity is more potent than meandering wordiness.

When realism is competing with delusion realism usually wins out.

It's unlikely that the Bills will be matching their win total from last year. If you don't expect it you won't be disappointed.

You don't have to be in an interview to exercise common sense. As soon as McDermott was hired Whaley lost his authority. That's a fact. After the draft Whaely was fired and !00% of the scouting department was terminated. The GM that was brought on board was a staffer he worked with in Carolina. Beane was a McDermott hire. Over the past couple of years this team has been stipped of many of the most expensive player drafted by the previous regime, such as Watkins and Dareus etc. McDermott was hired based on his plans to rebuild not only the roster and cap structure and organization. What do you think that has been going on over the past year? You don't have to be in a meeting to see what is happening because it is happening right in front of our eyes. This is not a quick fix and was never expected to be. I'm confident the owner is on board. Pegula has made some very damaging hires as a new owner with his respective teams. I do like the McDermott/Beane and Botterill hires. If you are going to shake it don't be squeamish. Really shake it up! And that's what the owner did! Kudos to him.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree with you. The reason that McDermott was hired by Pegula is that he presented to the owner his plan to rebuild this mediocre organization. It was a comprehensive and coherent plan. Pegula knew exactly what he was getting when he hired McDermott. It was a complete remake and not a cosmetic change. That takes time. I'm confident that the owner is on board with the plan. I'm confident that the coaches know exactly who and what Nate is as a qb. They still decided to start him.

The assessment you are making on Peterman is the same assessment that the coaching staff has of him. They know exactly what they got. Why do you think that the organization put so much effort into putting themselves in a position to draft one of the highly rated qbs in this draft class? I just don't understand why you have such a jaundiced view of Nathan when his role as a starter will probably be for a short term. The coaching decision to start Peterman is as much about where Allen is as a player as it is about Nathan as a player. If this were a stage play you would know what the ending would be before it even started.

The plan that McDermott had when he took over is the same plan that he is executing now. As Kelly state last year the Bills overachieved. This is probably a four year rebuild. If you don't have patience you will be frustrated and have moments where you want to jump off the bus. There simply is no quick fix. With respect to the Donahoe and Gailey eras that was under the prior owner. This is a completely different situation that has little to do with the past.

Our thinking is more aligned than it appears. It's not too challenging to come up with a list of deficiencies in the first stage of a rebuild. Next year the Bills will have over $50M of cap space and a young franchise qb on the team. They will also have a full complement of draft picks. Sweeping out much of the old for the new takes time. I'm not bothered by the Peterman decision. Why expend so much energy on a short term player (as a starter)? He has a role on this team as a backup. His role now will not be as significant as it will be in the not too distant future. Whether the HC decided to start Peterman or go with the rookie there was some merit and logic to whatever he decided. As it stands I more than comfortable with the decision.

Your pessimistic view might come to pass. That is not going to change who is going to start the season. The decision has been made. My view is that when McDermott took over he was going to not only rebuild the roster but also the organization. This was going to be a four year endeavor. Last year, everything worked out better than expected. I consider that season an aberration. Good luck is not to be questioned; it is to be pocketed. There was never going to be a quick fix. It was part of the plan to dramatically alter the roster, the organization and the cap structure/mix. The process is still in the early stage. I'm more than satisfied how the rebuilding plan has been executed. The investments are not about now so much as they are about the next couple of years. Keeping that in mind I differentiate between the short term decisions being made now as opposed to the next couple to few years. Within the broader context I have no problems with the decisions that have been made. If you want magic go to the magic show. Instant gratification is not realistic. It takes time.

Explain to me why you think McDermott and staff decided to start Peterman over Allen?

That's a deal! Can you get some of your dwelling cohorts take take the same pledge?

You may be fixated on the fiasco in San Diego but I won't be. I'll be watching the games in present time this year. WEO, let it go and free yourself from the burdens of the past. You will feel liberated. If you want me to argue that Peterman doesn't have limitations regarding his arm strength then you have been missing my central point in this discussion. With the exception of his sideline throws he did make some quality passes. It's understood by everyone who has eyes that he can't make those wide out throws. Every time he attempts that type of pass it is a disaster in waiting. I understand that and acknowledge it. What you see is the same thing that the HC and staff sees. Yet for the short term they decided to start Peterman over Allen. I agree with that judgment.

My response is the same to you as it is to WEO. The Charger game is in the past and has no relevancy to this season for Pererman. As far as which qb better reads defenses I don't see how you can say Allen is better (at this early stage for him) than Peterman. I simply can't make a judgment on that issue as of now. The bottom line is that the HC who watches the tape and presides over practice came to the conclusion that in the short term Peterman gives his team a better chance to succeed. I not only understand why he made that decision but I agree that it was the right thing to do. (At least for the short term.)

Last year's performance has no relevancy to this year! Of course it was part of his experience but it has absolutely no bearing on this year. For the short term Peterman's induction as a starter makes sense to me. Before the season is completed odds are that a more physically talented qb will be behind the center.