JohnC

You are missing the point. What's right for the Pats isn't necessarily right for the Bills. The Pats are willing to spend more money than other teams for this player because they are a good cap position to do so. A team that is a SB contending team without a doubt has a different calculation when analyzing a possible deal. You are making the assumption that Peterson was a better fit than Gillis was for the Pats. I say this with no intention of belittling your judgment but I would take BB's judgment over yours.

There is no organization that is going to have every transaction work out well. However, you are concluding that the Gillis deal is not going to work out before it has gone into effect. As far as what the Twitter analysts are saying it is irrelevant to what the Patriots are thinking on this particular signing. They ignore the noise and make their own judgments. The Chandler deal was a marginal deal for the Pats. It was a no impact deal. They certainly didn't acquire him for an exorbitant price. It was a bargain basement deal with little consequence. Your point that there was an expectation for him to play at a pro bowl level is outlandish. Who was making that type of ridiculous claim? No one I know who was sober. You are right that each football player decision should be judged on its own merit. That's true. But in the real world of the NFL what is even more meaningful is not the individual transaction but the overall body of work. The bottom line is the resulting record. You may have already come to a judgment on this acquisition but I'm going to give the Patriots the benefit of the doubt based on their history.

I don't think that BB is concerned with what the Twitter crowd is thinking. The thing about BB and the Pats is that they are constantly changing their approach. As someone else mentioned Lewis might be odd man out with the team still capable of adding a more muscular inside runner. The way New England manages its backs and distributes the workload they don't need a workhorse type back. I'm not suggesting your view is not valid because it certainly is. But with BB and the Pats they very often think outside of the box and without question what they do works. When you observe the Pats it's obvious that they are much more conceptual than Buffalo is when building a roster. So far this offseason it seems that they are adding more offensive weapons with the addition of Cook, Gillislee and the TE, Allen.

Gillislee fits their offense better than Peterson. Gillislee can be used on swing passes and down the field while Peterson has never been much of a receiver. And I say this without the intention of mocking him but I'm not sure that Peterson is smart enough to grasp their multi-phased offense while Gillislee has demonstrated more versatility as a player. I'm not saying he is better than Peterson but I am saying he is better suited for New England.

We are in sync! However, we have to fight off the rest of the snarling pack. It's exhausting.

Great work Bandit. However, you make me unhappy. And you know why!

With respect to the first highlighted area your upgrading comment is exactly my point. I believe that there are qbs in this draft who have the potential to be significant upgrades over TT. Not necessarily right away but in the not too distant future. With conviction I believe that until the caliber of qb is demonstrably improved this team is going to remain stuck in the middle. I agree with your comment that TT wasn't Whaley's preferred qb and that he was more embraced by Rex. But it is stunningly irrational to portray Whaley's assessment as if he has a bias against TT because of his association with Rex. That view makes absolutely no sense. That is simply and odd thing to say. You don't think that Whaley would love to have a qb, any qb, playing at a high level for him? I also agree that TT preferred to stay with Buffalo because he had a better chance to play. There is a good reason for that. No other team would have considered him as a starter or at best maybe a temporary bridge qb. With respect to the highlighted comment about me hating him that is again another foolish thing to say. I'm thankful that we do have him. He is a reasonable bridge qb for a franchise that didn't have any better options. Repeating a myth doesn't ever make it true. The solution for some people is to resort to creating an illusion that satisfies what you want to believe. I have a better recommendation: Trust your eyes!

I usually agree with your takes but not on this one. McDermott has more allowance than what Pegula usually gives his coaches. You are right that Ryan had a .500 record during his stint but the owner realizes that there needs to be a lot of de-constructing on what Rex constructed. The person on the hot-seat is Whaley. He has been on the job for a few years and the roster is far from being robust. My opinion is that this team is not a playoff team. As the season advances and the end of the season games become meaningless the attention of the hanging squad will be directed toward Whaley. To a degree the condition of the franchise had more to do with him accommodating the archaic views of the former loquacious coach resulting in a set back that we are currently working through. As I have said on many occasions Whaley inexplicably never exhibited much urgency in addressing the qb position. Ultimately, that is what is going to catch up with him. Dithering doesn't solves problems---it only exacerbates them.

The qb discussion will be on full force next year.

If TT is such a gem with multi-faceted potential why did he settle for a pay cut and shorter term from the standpoint that the organization can walk away from him sooner? If there was such a demand for what you consider his sparkling talent why didn't he just wait for the option to be declined and then offer his services on the open market? Maybe the reason was that the market that a lot of people talked about was non-existent. Clearly there was a unanimous league wide opinion that he was a reasonable bridge qb and nothing more. There were at least half a dozen teams that were desperate for a qb. What was the response? Silence. The reality was that our GM had enough of him. And our very discrete GM was not discrete in expressing his disdain for his starting qb. He knew exactly what his strengths and weaknesses were. The GM not only ordered that the player you so much covet not play in the last game due to an injury payout clause but he suggested that he sit out sooner. I have been a critic of Whaley but what he isn't is a fool. This is an organization that hasn't had a legitimate franchise qb for over two decades. Do you really believe that he would be willing to cavalierly get rid of a qb who he believed was the long term answer at qb? Let's get serious here. I'm not suggesting that all the ills of the offense can be attributed to the qb. That would be unfair. What I am saying is if you want a team contending for something meaningful then you have to upgrade the position to have a chance to get there. Being adequate is not good enough.

The Bills spent a lot of money on Clay who is a good receiving TE. He was underutilized because TT was not adept at seam passes and throwing in the middle of the field. Not being able to proficiently go through progressions and using the TE as the secondary receiver also squandered the receiving talent on the field. As I have said on other posts the smart approach is to get a qb who can maximize the receiving talents such as Watkins and Clay instead of acquiring receivers for the purpose of buttressing a limited qb. The sequence is backwards for this backward thinking franchise.

The Leafs were known for their team speed. In this playoff series they also showed grit. As others have said Babock is a difference maker. Babcock's demanding style of coaching was reflected in the tough play of his team. Coaching matters!

I will be shocked if the Bills take a qb. I really believed that Whaley was ready to take the plunge on selecting a qb when he made it clear that he wanted to cut the chord with TT. What changed the situation is that I believe that McDermott is more empowered and his inclination is toward the defensive side of the ball. When I read Lombardi's thoughts on Watson I was more resolute on the importance of taking a qb in the first round. But the reality is our backwater franchise's instincts lean toward the patchwork mind-set. If the Bills select Watson in the first round I will be exuberant. If the Bills make their standard uninspiring and unimaginative pick I will be morose.

It's allowable to be frustrated and astute at the same time. We are predictably going to pass on good qb prospects only to see other teams seize on our misses. I'm starting to lean toward Watson if he is available. But that is not the Buffalo way. Sad, so sad.

This was a fantastic link. Thank you for it. There are organizations that think like chess players and there are organizations that are checker players. The Patriots and Belichick are way ahead of the curve. After reading the commentary on Watson I got fired up. If the Bills pass on him if he is available I will walk away in disgust. When will this backwater enter the modern era? Instead of patching holes why not start by building a foundation?

I like McCabe a lot and it is evident that he has developed into a solid player. However, I don't consider him as a first pairing defenseman, more of a second pairing type of player. On a cup type team I would rate him as a very good third pairing player.

Marrone was right on his quick assessment on EJ and he was right that Kujo was not close to being ready to play on the OL. He was brutally frank in expressing his displeasure at the qb situation he was handed by Whaley. No fair-minded person can say that he was wrong in his judgments and criticisms. However, there is a professional way of expressing criticism and there is an unprofessional way of doing it. I suspect that after his departure he gained a better perspective on how to handle disagreements in a job where disagreements are an inescapable aspect of the job. I'm confident in saying that Coughlin would never tolerate the type of pugnacious and disrespectful behavior that DM exhibited toward Whaley. The tough old Irishman would kick him in the ass and throw out the door before he finished with his insufferable fulminations.

You are astute.

In the end his hard headed attitude will end up sabotaging his own career. If he is too obtuse to understand why with his type of foot injury there is a need for caution and prudence then he is a fool.

Marrone did a reasonably good job. He took over a team that was essentially being rebuilt and had it consistently playing hard. In my mind the team was on an upward trajectory. I'm not going to over glamorize or over state his record with the Bills but I don't think it is unfair to say that this team was moving in a positive direction. As a coach there was little that was elite about him. He was a meat and potatoes type coach. He probably was too unyielding and had an old school tiresome approach that would have in the end would resulted in him not having much longevity here. But what I can say with confidence is that with his departure and the introduction of the Rex era our franchise was set back by years.

The Bills have given Watson a lot of attention. This pick would go against their staid organizational personality.

The game might be a bore but the sex in the parking lot is entertaining.

I doubt that Buffalo would act away from its bland character and select a qb with its first selection. However, if it did I would be ecstatic while the "wait until next year gang" would be sulking.

Tell that to the Patriots.

Your logic is perplexing. Re-read what you just posted. It supports my position. My position is that Garop would be a better starting qb than TT and that I consider TT to be an adequate bridge quarterback. You are portraying my position as if I am trashing TT. I am not. The bottom line is that I don't consider him good enough to be our long-term franchise qb. However you want to rate him with your stats his limitations preclude him from taking the team to a meaningful spot. That's my opinion and it appears that it is also the determined opinion of the GM he is currently playing for.