JohnC

Virgil, Good right up. If Taylor consistently played the way he did in the first half I wouldn't be such a loud advocate for replacing him. I thought that his first half of play was exceptional in maximizing his unique skills and making good throws. In the second half he seemed to revert back to his very restrictive and reluctant style of play. In his defense this receiving corps has to be one of the worst units in the league. He usually doesn't look to his wideouts because there is no separation. Even when there were completions the coverage was still very tight. I thought the dumbest play/act in this game was when Adlophus Washington, who wasn't even in the play, got a foolish penalty at a critical time for childishly knocking the ball out of the receivers hands after he was tackled on the sidelines. The wrestling coach made a point after the game that he was going to address the issue with the player. It seems that after every play there is jawing going on between the players. I don't like it.

If it was clearly a catch then why did the announcer in the booth, Romo, say after reviewing the slow motion clip that technically he believed it wasn't a catch? The referee then made the same point in explaining the over-ruling.

What has taken away the discretion or nuances as you noted is the video review. The video of the play is shown in slow motion so what is captured is a sequence in a stream of frames. I thought that Romo perfectly captured the call. At first he thought it was clearly a catch. Then, when he saw the shot that indicated otherwise he smartly described it as technically not a catch but a tough a call to make.

I agree with you that it was the right call. The more I watch Tony Romo the more I like him. He already is one of the best analysts in the booth. When he saw the replay where the ball was slightly bobbled and touching the ground he felt that technically the call could be over-ruled. The officials explained the ruling just as Romo stated prior to the final determination. It was a tough call but the right call.

The outside conditions in Buffalo were much more challenging than the indoor conditions in Atlanta. So he decided to go for it. You are looking at this decision from the standpoint that it worked in Atlanta so the odds for success on a shorter kick in Buffalo should be in your favor. But you are not factoring in the cold weather and winds. You don't know if the kicker discussed with the HC prior to the game that after trying kicks in pregame that one side of the field was more favorable than the other side of the field. I'm not saying you are right or wrong. Your position is reasonable. But what I am saying is that the decision that the HC made is not egregiously wrong. It was a judgment call that didn't work out. I'm more sympathetic to the HC than many because it is tough coaching a team in which the play of the qb and receivers can be for extended periods of time so wretchedly bad.

I am nominating you for the drama queen award named after Omarosa. The advantage you will have whether you win or lose is that you won't be escorted off of the premises. You don't know what was happening on the sidelines with the communication to the offense. So the coach called a time out to make sure everyone was in sync. What's wrong with that? Were there some issues regarding time management and calls in general? Of course. There is no game in which some calls can't be questioned or even criticized. The Bills are clearly a rebuilding team. Yet, as the season winds down, the HC still has his team in contention for a playoff spot. You may have an inflated view of this roster but I don't. This is very much an overachieving team. The deficiencies on both sides of the ball are glaring. This was far from being a perfect game by the players and coaches. However, if you put things in proper perspective this was not only a good win, it was an important win.

PTR has a tattoo on his arm. It says: It's the fans fault!

Most of the accounts I have read indicate that if a qb is selected in this draft that a veteran qb will also be brought in to bridge the time until the rookie is better prepared. You have this incessant concern that a rookie qb is going to be skewered and psychologically scarred by the impatient fans. I guarantee you that a rookie qb is going to receive a lot of scrutiny and unfair criticisms. So what! That's part of the environment. Fans having unreasonable expectations are an inescapable part of sports. If a young qb, or any player for that matter, can't handle the pressure of intense scrutiny, even when it is unfair, then that player doesn't belong in the business.

He didn't set the franchise back---the Peulas did. That was an odd hire. What makes his hire even more perplexing is that he was a known quantity. His career was ignominiously ended in New York. At the time of his firing the team was in a state of disarray. Why didn't the Pegulas do their due diligence outside of the interview room where a huckster is able to shine? Do you think Polian would have endorsed him? Do you think that the substantive and dignified Levy would have endorsed such a shallow and obnoxious character? This stubborn stain on the organization that it is now desperately trying to clean up was brought on by the Pegulas. This hire went beyond being stupid. It was a zany hire that to this day is weighing on the organization. The billionaire Terry Pegula has a nose for finding gas fields. However, in this case he couldn't smell the over-powering and knee bending stench of a fraud that everyone else was aware of.

Do you remember all the posters who declared Goff a failure because he struggled in his rookie year? How about waiting another year or two before you make a conclusive judgment? It's probable that if the Bills use a high pick on a qb and play him right away he is going to struggle.

Only brothers are allowed to hit sisters. Everyone else is out of bounds http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/12/12/boy-jumps-in-to-rescue-sister-wrestling-match-video.hln

If you don't have a trigger man it doesn't matter who your receivers are. Their talents, limited or not, will still be wasted.

It's both. If you are not sure what I mean then go watch a Ram game. You will see a qb completing passes all over the field to their very good receivers. It's a dramatically different and entertaining game. When you watch the Bills passing offense it is like an Amish horse and buggy entering a race in the Kentucky derby. The qualitative difference is embarrassingly obvious.

I still believe that Jones is going to be a good receiver. Kupp has been exceptional in his rookie year. Kupp is playing in a modern passing offense with Goff throwing to him. Jones is playing in a primitive passing offense with a running qb throwing to him. It is futile comparing receivers when the situations are so drastically different.

Promo is the original zealot. If you want to be the secondary zealot the seat is still open. But that means that you have to graciously subordinate yourself to the primo man. When responding to him it is "yes si"r or "no sir". A slight deferential bow is also appropriate etiquette when interacting with the Primo Man.

This change in format has given Promo the opportunity to tout UB football. If Yolo is considered a zealot for his beloved Ohio team then Promo is a super-sized zealot for the charging Bulls. Now only if he can get people to the games at the empty stadium!

Dennison has received a lot of criticism. Is it fair or not? I'm not as harsh a critic of him as others are because the qb he is calling plays for has major limitations. His repertoire of plays is going to be much more limited than with a more well rounded qb who can use the whole field and go through progressions. The criticisms that Dennison is receiving is the same criticisms that Roman encountered. Maybe if they had a full-serviced qb they could call a more rounded and creative game. In addition, when Peterman is in you can't over complicate the playbook because the novice is still learning the pro game. The problem with this year's draft for us is that there are so many teams needing qbs. It can be almost half the teams in the league. The player in a normal year who might be available in the middle of the draft could be pushed up into the top third of the draft this year. My feeling is that if you intend on getting a qb then it would be better to make a mistake being aggressive rather than losing out by being passive and waiting. The Bills are in a good situation even against teams who are drafting higher than us because we have the chips (draft picks) that would allow us to move ahead of most of the pack. One of McVay's first hires was bringing in Wade Phillips to run the defense. There are a lot of showmen in the league who garner attention because they are characters. Phillips is a stolid personality with no ego. He is one of the best defensive coaches in the business. Wherever he goes he succeeds. The Rams demonstrated this offseason how important it is to have the right people managing the team. It's not about collecting talent as it is about molding the talent. This team made a quantum leap forward because of the many smart decisions they made this past offseason. Compare that to Rex who brought in his brother to create more chaos in an already chaotic situation?

It's illegal and unethical to be in talks with another team while you are under contract. That's not to say that it isn't often surreptitiously done through back channel intermediaries. The owner was old and irascible but he wasn't dumb. He had an inkling what was going on. That's why he fired Butler and felt that Butler betrayed him and acted inappropriately. If Butler wasn't going to sign, and he had not intention to do so, he should have straight-forward told the owner instead of stringing him along. This is not so much a question of what you do but how but how you go about doing it.

The best example of the support system required for young qb is the Ram model. They brought in a young, energetic and creative HC known for his ability to work with qbs. The best way to describe him is that he is a qb whisperer. The organization did exactly as you suggested in your post. They upgraded the receiving corps by drafting Kupp and adding Woods and Watkins. They then upgraded the line with bringing in a LT (Whitworth) and .center (Sullivan). That not only provided better protection but improved the blocking to support Gurley.

I agree with the spirit of your post. This staff has to identity their top three or four qb prospects who they believe will be quality franchise qbs. Then it has to take an aggressive approach to put themselves in a position to get one of those players. As you stated, passively waiting in an environment when nearly half the league needs a qb is a recipe for settling for a lesser option. That's not good enough. No matter which qb is identified there are going to be plenty of critics. What's right for you might not be right for another team. Getting that right fit increases the chances of success. What the LA Ram situation with Goff proves is that how you handle the qb and the support system (surrounding players) is critical to success. But make no mistake there are no guarantees. If the qb selected doesn't work out then you have to keep at it and find a better option. The problem won't be solved by itself.

You may sleep restlessly but for me Baker would be a dream pick. I would sleep like a pooped out baby. Don't get hung up on the measurable because the most important numbers relate to production. And don't be bothered by his antics. He's a rambunctious kid who loves the game and is dedicated to the game. What more do you want? If you are still straddling the fence then talk to YoloinOhio about what the short and stout qb from OK did to his beloved team.

Most people consider me to be annoying and a dullard. Your perspicacity is now in doubt. Anyone who likes me needs to have their judgment questioned. I don't even like myself. You are a lonely outlier.

Without even considering what Glenn can do when healthy you get the sense from how this new regime has operated that most of what Whaley has done is being flushed out. It seems that there is a determined effort to rework the salary structure and replace with their guys. Watkins, Dareus and probably at some point Glenn will all have been directed toward the exit door. It was reported that Glenn was being dangled to Seattle. So it seems that their intentions for him are well telegraphed. I, like you, would like to keep him instead of creating another hole. Odds are that it is unlikely to happen.

You used an apt word (settling) to describe the mind-set of a mediocre and non-descript franchise that has been reluctant to strive for excellence. Is it a gamble to use assets to acquire a high end qb prospect? Sure it is. Go and ask the Rams or the Eagles or even Houston if it was worth it to give up assets to get their franchise qb? This settling for an Orton, Kolb, Brohm, fading Bledsoe and even Taylor caliber qbs has gotten us nowhere other than being irrelevant and boring. It's got to stop! I believe that it will with this new regime.

As an owner Ralph Wilson made a lot of mistakes. That's not a revelation. You missed the point that I was responding to. I was discussing the Butler firing and his own press release. You are going off in another direction that doesn't address what I stated.