JohnC

Where we have an irreconcilable difference is that you are rating TT much higher than I am. Taylor may be our best FA quarterback acquisition over the past decade but that doesn't mean that he is a legitimate franchise qb in this league. If Taylor was such a gem of a qb why did he take a cut in his salary and alter the terms of his contract so the team would be less obligated to keep him after a year?

Pegula is working hard to fix the dysfunction that he contributed to. I'm on record that I am very uncomfortable with Pegula giving the new HC such wide ranging authority within the organization. It is a recipe for disaster. Except for the exceptional cases where the empowered HC basically has the overall authority such as Belichick, Carroll and Reid it is not a wise road to go especially for a new HC.

The Bills were too busy looking in the trash can to come up with Kolb, Orton and Brohm etc to come up with someone serviceable. If you factor in the market and draft it is stunning how futile our results have been. How embarrassing can it get?

Excellent post and good information. Your description fits with the perception that he was more of a scout than a GM who has a wider range of responsibilities. I still believe that with a change of responsibilities he could have worked well with the wrestling coach in identifying the type of players that the HC wanted. In this draft Whaley offered the platter and the HC made the selections. I thought it worked out well.

He was finally getting a chance to establish himself when he then had a brutal knee operation. He wasn't physically imposing or have a strong arm but he was accurate in the short and medium range and he could read defenses. He reminds me a lot of Kirk Cousins. His game would easily translate to today's offenses.

Rumor has it that he is quitting the lagging newspaper business and becoming an investor and manager of a local micro-brewery. The business will likely fail because he will end up drinking the profits away.

The Bills have missed on highly drafted DBs, LBs, OL, DL, RBs, receivers etc. If you miss on those positions does that mean that you should freeze up and avoid the positions again? Of course not. The Bills have passed on qbs such as Carr, Russell Wilson, Cousins etc. My point is that when a bedraggled franchise has not had a franchise quaterback in almost a quarter century it might be appropriate to exhibit more urgency and tenacity in addressing that important issue. , This year I believed that we were in a good draft position to draft at least two quality qb prospects. Again, the organization passed on that opportunity, an opportunity that other teams took advantage of. If you add in McGillislee for a fifth round pick with the players you mentioned then they had an exceptional draft and offseason player acquisitions. One obvious advantage they have with this offseason strategy is that all the players mentioned will play at a high level right from the start. Being creative and ahead of the curve is why they continue to hoist the Trophy up while other organizations muddle along.

KC gave up a number of high picks, multiple second picks if I remember correctly, to acquire Smith who stabilized the position for them. In this past draft the Chiefs gave up a first round and other picks to acquire the qb that they wanted to invest in for the long haul. So there is nothing ironic about my prior post. What is obvious is that over the past 8 years or so they have had a franchise qb taking the snaps. And still with a credible starter in Smith they aggressively went out and used a first round pick and additional picks to get a qb they believe will be a franchise qb. Compare that two the Bills who have not had a franchise qb since the departure of Kelly more than twenty years ago.

What is often forgotten in the qb discussion is that the most propitious time to draft a qb is when you already have an "acceptable" starting qb. One of the worst ways of handling most young qbs is throwing them into the fray when they are not ready. In a discussion with the AlphaDog he took the position that taking Mahomes was a gratuitous act because they already had a starting qb and should have used their pick to select a good positional prospect. I take the opposite position. When you are not in a desperate position that is the time to exhibit foresight and put your team in a good position to make the seamless transition to a better qb. As you well know the argument that is used is justifying delaying in selecting a qb is that the next year's crop is better. The Bills have not had a legitimate franchise qb in almost a quarter century. Yet that argument continues to be used. It makes little sense. The reality is that the teams that took the first three qbs in this draft acted aggressively by giving up picks to acquire them. They all exhibited an urgency and resoluteness that the floundering Bills haven't exhibited during its past generation of failure. And that is not a coincidence, it is a consequence of its perplexing passive attitude in addressing an issue that has held this franchise back.

It's really rich that a fan of the Bills lecturing the Chiefs organization on how to run their operation and address the qb issue. The Bills are one of the least successful franchises over the past generation while the Chiefs are one of the most consistently good teams in the NFL. To put it mildly the Bills franchise is one of the most erratically run organizations in the sport compared to the Chiefs who are one of the most stable franchises in the NFL. Compare the torrential staffing changes the Bills have had over the past decade with coaches and front office staff to the Chiefs whose coaching and front office staff are and have been well anchored within the organization. As you noted the Chiefs could have gone is a number of directions in this draft. They identified a qb that they believe after some understudying will be their franchise qb for a long time. Will he? Who knows. They evaluated a player and had a conviction on him and took a decisive action. Compare that to the Bills organization that hasn't had a quality franchise qb for more than two consecutive decades? Yet you still have the temerity to criticize a team that is proactive in securing the qb position for not necessarily now but shortly down the road. The issue under discussion will not be fairly judged until a few years down the road when it is determined whether Mahomes is a good qb or not. The argument that is too often used is that the qb a team aggressively pursued might not work out is nonsensical because highly selected players at all positions very often do not work out. It's a calculated gamble. If you go into the casino and don't consider the possibility that you might lose that day then you are an oblivious fool. It's the nature of beast. The CB that the Bills selected with the lower first round pick is a good prospect who when all is said and done will have little impact on the team. I'm confident that if Mahomes turns out to be as good as the KC organization believes he will be that in the long run he will have a substantially more consequential impact compared to the CB the Bills selected.

The attached link supports your point about how players should train. Tom Brady's training regimen demonstrates how differently some players are training compared to the standard weight lifting routines. It is a more total fitness approach that goes beyond strength training to diet, flexibility and core muscles. Slowly but steadily athletes are becoming much more scientific about how they workout to prepare and maintain health. http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2017/02/why_dont_nfl_players_copy_tom.html

You are spot on. What are people expecting a humiliating public declaration that Whaley had no authority to overrule the wrestling coach? When the owner publicly announced that the GM was no longer going to speak on behalf of the organization and the sole voice of the football team was the HC what more evidence was needed to demonstrate the GM's loss of authority? Almost immediately after the draft the GM and his scouting department were fired. And still people are debating whether McDermott was running the show in this past draft! The owner can have whatever organizational structure he wants. Except for the elite coaches who have all encompassing authority to run the football operation I am very queasy about this new coach having so much authority so soon. No one is arguing against the necessity for the GM and the HC to be in sync. But both positions have different timeline perspectives when making personnel and cap decisions. To put it mildly I'm troubled by this situation. Documentation isn't needed to understand what happened within the organization and realignment of authority. Just some common sense to understand what just happened with this puzzle that isn't very puzzling.

When one chases perfection one is usually chasing an illusion. Andy Reid, a HC who has a history of astutely evaluating qbs, targeted a qb whom our former acting GM coveted and our new HC with a defensive background didn't. Was it another lost opportunity among many for the Bills? Only time will tell. But taking a qb such as Peterman in the fifth round and extolling his abilities is something that the Bills have been doing for so long i.e. taking a more cautious approach and settling for the lesser talent instead of taking a risk on a bigger talent. Jauron/Levy would be so proud!

I understand your empathetic sentiments toward the scouts who do the grunt work and aren't lavishly paid. That's a testimony to your good heart. But when you choose a vocation where moving is a probable aspect of the job then don't complain when the inevitable happens. If a person is a traveling salesman I don't want to hear complaints how flying is such a stressful chore and the toll it takes on family life. Where is the surprise? Position and assistant coaches in the pro and college ranks are often on one year tenders. It tends to be a vagabond lifestyle. There is no secret to what you are getting into prior to getting into the field. As for most jobs the perceived glamour of the job to outsiders is in reality what it is for most jobs a lot of hard work with unavoidable repercussions on the family.

If Whaley was making the selections it would have been Mahomes. He wasn't making the selections. How we assess the trade down boils down to whether Mahomes turns out to be the player that Andy Reid thinks he will be. I say this for any deal involving a potential franchise qb: if the qb dealt for turns out to be a good qb then the deal was a good deal for the acquiring team and a lesser deal for the other team. It will take a few years before a fair assessment can be made.

It isn't that I don't trust you--it's simply I don't accept your position. The argument that there will be more candidates is actually meaningless. What counts is when you draft is there a good qb prospect? You can be in a poor draft class year but if one of the few quality candidates is there then it is foolish not to seize the opportunity, something this bumbling franchise has been doing for almost a quarter century. Where has that gotten us? As far as your description that Peterman is not a horrible prospect that in itself is an indictment and a demonstration how incompetent this franchise is. Peterman at best is a poor man's McCarron or Dalton-lite. Why not go for the higher rated qb and improve your chances of landing a franchise qb. Why not make it a priority when drafting instead of pursuing long shots? Being mediocre is easily attainable when that is all you are striving for. That's the mentality of this this woeful franchise.

I say this with respect and kindness but I abhor what you said in the highlighted segment. That dithering and wait until next year mentality has crippled this franchise. Why do you think this franchise has been without a viable long term qb for almost a quarter century? It is the vacillating approach that you just advocated for. For the sake of argument if the three elite prospects that you listed came out this year the Bills at the ten spot would not have had a chance to select any one of them, even with high picks thrown in a potential deal. Do you believe that Cleveland, San Fran, Chicago or the Jets would not snap at the chance to take any one of those elite prospects? The Bills are constructed to be a 6-8 win team. Although they are not wretchedly bad they are wretchedly mediocre. The Bills had a chance to select one of two very good qb prospects. They passed as they usually do. The ignominious non-playoff streak will continue. What you are recommending is what has usually been recommended. Why not try something more bold and take a calculated risk to do what is required to do to be a serious team? The drafting of a CB in the first round instead of a good qb prospect is a bland act that Jauron/Whaley would proudly do. They would be so proud of you. Not I.

I respectfully but strenuously disagree with you. I don't disagree with you that TT can play better with some upgrades on offense and a more smartly designed offense to better suit his talents. Where I disagree with you is that I believe that TT has limitations that will not be correctable. I don't believe that he will ever at a proficient level be able to make reads and go through progressions. Or another way of viewing it is the offense will be simplified to accommodate his specific talents. When you consider the teams that play in the playoffs and progress through them they usually have a higher caliber of qb who can play at a higher and more sophisticated level than TT can play at. I don't doubt that he has an upside but his ceiling is basically not much higher than what you are already seeing. For me, he is a little better than being adequate at best. As I said in the prior posts it's my belief that Whaley's assessment on the qb situation was correct. Because his judgment was in conflict with the wrestling coach it contributed to him being fired. In my view both Mahomes and Watson in the long run (not short run) have much more upside. When one strives to be a little better than respectable it is understandable why one would be satisfied with a TT caliber of qb. Not I.

I have said this on a few other postings so I apologize for the repetition. Although I have been highly critical of Whaley because of his seemingly lack of urgency on addressing the qb issue I believe that in this draft he was determined to draft a top tier qb from this draft class. Since Trubinsky was off the board he would have probably taken Mahomes first and Watson as the other option. All indications are that it was going to be Mahomes. However, he didn't have the authority to make the pick. I believe that this was a pivotal point for the organization but because a HC was making the pick with a short term perspective as opposed to a GM who has the longer term perspective this organization let an opportunity slip by again. I agree with Whaley's view that TT wasn't a credible starting qb and will never be. McDermott thought that TT was a viable option. Even if the owner was going to fire Whaley he should have taken his advice. Now this franchise is again set back. Owner blunders don't move you forward they set you back from the original starting line. If Mahomes and Watson become as good as I think they will this fan base will be furious. When an organization thinks small it becomes small. Same story constantly being repeated.

Card players shuffle cards while the Bills shuffle staff.

The defense was being revamped for the benefit of Rex. What did you expect Whaley to say that he made a poor pick? Putting aside who pushed for the pick my basic point was that Whaley had an opportunity to select a qb he liked but waited too long. All reports on that draft indicated that DW liked Prescott over Cardale. The history of this franchise is waiting too long to select some of their targeted qbs. Whether you agree or not one of the primary reasons for Whaley losing his job is that he wasn't successful in getting a long term franchise qb on the roster. The irony is that he wanted to select Mahomes (it is being widely reported) at the ten spot but he didn't have the authority to make the pick. On his position I agree with him.

The highlighted area is my point. The timeline has little to do with the point. From all reports Whaley wanted to use the first pick on a qb. He didn't have the authority to make that decision. The new empowered HC preferred going in a different direction. And the beat goes on.

The Bills were in a position to draft a high grade qb prospect. The HC with the authority passed on the opportunity while the former GM who lacked the authority wanted to select the qb. This scene has been replayed how many times with the same results. It's frustrating and odd.

With respect to the highlighted area Whaley should have instead used the Adlophus Washington pick on Presscott. I don't care how much the loud mouth HC was pushing for his defensive players the GM should have taken control and made the right pick. Whaley is a good GM because he is accommodating; and he is a failed GM because he is too accommodating. What I find frustrating is that Whaley was ready to go full in and draft a qb with the first pick. He was made impotent by the owner. The moral of the story is acting too late is acting too late.

The problem with your position is that after the EJ fiasco there was little follow-up action to address the qb void. The problem was not swinging and missing--- the problem was not swinging again and again until he got the hit. As you stated Newsome moved back into the first round to select Flacco while Whaley was passive. That resulted in his downfall more than anything else.