JohnC

You don't have to be attached to any one of the top qb prospects in this draft. There are a few very good prospects with different traits but all very good prospects. Trubinsky, Watson, Kizer and Webb and maybe a few more prospects. Probably none of the qbs in this draft will be ready to play right away. That's okay; that's the norm. The problem with the Bills is that they have a patchwork approach to building a roster. Whaley is a failed GM and this franchise is a failed franchise mostly because it has failed to secure the qb position. Whaley has demonstrated that he is willing to be bold as exemplified for his trade up deal for Watkins but he has not shown the same initiative with the qb position. That's why he is in jeopardy and lost some authority to the new HC. Contrary to what many people think here this is a year where the circumstances favor the Bills to resolve the generational qb void. This team can trade down, add some picks, and come away with a credible prospect. It won't. That's why the Bills will again continue their ignominious streak of not making the playoffs not only this year but also in the following years.

I recorded the game. I saw the score and then deleted. What's the point? A lot of teams who are vying for the playoffs and won't make it are as good or better than us. Unless a lot is done in the offseason we can be watching the same scenario play out again. I'm a long time Buffalo Bills fan. The Bills have not had a legitimate franchise qb since the retirement of Jim Kelly, over twenty years, ago. How does that happen? What's the point? I'm not the type of sports fan whose emotions and attitude are roiled by a sports outcome. But there is a depressing absurdity and futility to being a Buffalo pro sports fan. Systemic and institutional failure that lasts for more than a generation is so stupid.

The kid's got good family gene's from an athletic and intelligence standpoint. As some others have stated he would be a typical out of the box pick that the Patriots would make. Because of durability concerns I don't see him as a bulk runner but as a player involved in the short passing game including swing passes and getting him in space with his instincts he would be a dynamite player.

I agree with you that it is unfair to conclude that our cap has been mismanaged. But that is not to say that it has been efficiently run compared to other organizations. A simple definition of a cap system is reduced to the core of talent vs cost. Some organizations have a better grasp on that relationship than others. New England is the model for managing a cap. They have maintained the highest level of success while tightly managing the costs. Players come and go as much and as fast as any other franchise in the league. The key to their success is having the replacements ready or near hand when the inevitable departures happen. Ultimately success is measured based on a team's record. By that measurement the Bills are a failure. Managing the cap well or poorly in and of itself tells you little. During the Ralph Wilson era under the direction of Littman the Bills were a tightly cap managed team. There is a number of acceptable ways of configuring a team's cap. There is no one template other than maybe what New England does. The bottom line is it comes down to talent and how it is distributed within a roster. Based on Buffalo's accumulated record W/L and the money the organization has spent this team has not very impressively managed its cap. The essence of cap management is talent assessment and placing a value to it. The problem with the Bills is that they have not done well with the talent assessment side of the equation. Both sides are inextricably linked. If you too often miss on the talent side then you will inevitably fail on the cap/financial side. The record determines the ultimate judgment.

If you use your first round pick on a qb you are not mortgaging the rest of the draft. It is only one pick. This draft is not going to come close to filling all of our needs even if no pick was used for a qb. The draft is only a partial way to address needs. It is also done through free agency which is our main method of filling in holes.

I live in the MD/DC area and followed the story. The story line has swung back and forth. Is the drinking story line true or not? I'm not sure. One aspect of the story that has become evident and is the real source of the conflict is that the nominal GM, Bruce Allen, and the actual personnel person, McCloughan , had boundary and authority issues between them. It is Allen who restricted McCloughan's duties and basically forced him out. It sometimes happens in the work world when two people can't carve out an acceptable working relationship and share the same perception of what their duties and authorities are then not only are you going to have conflict but you are going to have escalating conflict. If an acceptable agreement can't be worked out between the parties then one has to go.

How about banning cell phone users who are loud talkers?

It's not where you start---it is where you finish.

When I first read your post I thought you were an on the farm freak and was considering an intimate relationship with a cow. I was going to suggest the milk loaded teets because it was more nutritious than the tongue. Sorry for jumping to such a perverted conclusion.

I just don't see the 49ers using the second pick on a draft on any of these good but not elite qb prospects. Their roster is so depleted and far away from being competitive that they need to re-stock the roster with top end talent that is available in this draft. If San Fran was a more competitive team I could see them taking one of the qb prospects but not under their current situation, at least not in the first round. The intriguing thing to follow in this draft with respect to the qb issue is which surprise team/s will move up to get a qb. There are a number of teams who have veteran qbs who are near the end of the line, such as the Giants, Steelers and Arizona. Will they move up into the first or near the top of the second to get a qb that they are impressed with? Jon Gruden was on a radio sports show yesterday and was asked about the qb crop. The qb he gushed over was Watson. He felt that he was the most impressive person (not necessarily the most talented) qb in this draft.

The majority of people on this board were not born when he played. He was a complete corner and a gem. Knee injuries during his era prior to today's medical standards were so devastating. One of my favorite players of all time was Tom Sestak. His style of play in the older era was actually very modern and would have translated to this era's style of lineman play. http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2012/4/3/2922575/buffalo-bills-afl-tom-sestak

I have a different take. I believe that the Bills will be in a position to select the first or second qb in this draft. It is unlikely that the Browns will use their first pick on a qb but it is quite possible that they do so with the 12th pick in the draft. Trubisky is their probable qb target. If I were a gambler I would bet the house that the Bills do not use their first pick at the ten spot on a qb. They are freakishly afraid to use a high pick on a qb prospect. They are a lackluster organization that is comfortable staying within their small comfort zone. I say this with a great deal of disappointment.

Good post. Well reasoned and stated. However, I'm not in agreement with how you assessed TT. Last year, his second year with the team, I was very troubled by what I saw beyond the stats. Much to my disappointment his game didn't progress. That's what bothers me so much about him. The deficiencies he exhibited in his first year with the team such as throwing into the middle of the field, making anticipatory throws and going through his progressions were still at a very primitive level in his second year. There is no doubt that he was plagued with roster limitations that affected his game. While you criticized Clay for not finishing his routes I saw something different. TT's ability to read progressions was so rudimentary that he reflexively bailed out on plays by running instead of allowing the plays to develop. Clay certainly did cut off some routes early but that was due to the fact that he knew that TT wasn't going to go beyond his initial read. How many passes did TT complete in the seam routes? He rarely made those type of throws because he lacked the timing and precision throw those types of passes. TT throws a beautiful long ball. One of the best in the league. But his game is so rudimentary and limited that I don't see much long term potential. Let's remember that although he has only started for two seasons he has been in the league for around seven years. So it is not unreasonable to believe that what you see is what you get. You are correct that Rex damaged our defense and that it was limited by injuries. Our defense can be patched up and rebound to the point of respectability, especially with smarter coaching. But what is your goal? If you want to be considered a serious team then you have to have a qb who is capable of running a fuller offense that includes a wider range of plays that go beyond TT's limitations. It may seem otherwise but I'm not a TT basher. We are fortunate to have him. He is a perfect bridge qb. But if you expect more out of him then you will be disappointed as this team continues to lag behind the rest of the contenders. Wishful thinking is usually a long shot approach to success. I don't recommend going to the betting window with that type of mentality.

I disagree with your comparison between Dalton and TT. I put Dalton in the category of being an average franchise qb, but a franchise qb. He will never be an all pro caliber qb but he is a qb who can function in a well rounded offense using all parts of the field. I also listened to the same interview you referred to on WGR. I agree with his assessments of the top qb prospects in this draft and how he compared it to the prior and next draft. The top four prospects are not elite prospects but are good prospects. As you stated and Alphadoggie stated this is a rich draft in which good prospects can be had in the following rounds. That is an argument for taking a qb this year.

It's actually closer to twenty three years for non-playoff participation. I'm simply making a conservative projection based on how this organization functions. The Bills don't have a legitimate franchise qb on its roster. It has been that way for almost twenty years which unsurprisingly corresponds to the period of time it hasn't made the playoffs. I agree with you that this is a rich draft class. That is an argument that using a first round pick on a good qb prospect is not a major gamble or a wasteful pick . Where I fundamentally disagree with and is the basis of our competing stances is that I disagree with you on the assessment of this qb class. It is acknowledged that none of them will be ready to start in their rookie year but that doesn't mean that ultimately some of them won't eventually be good franchise qbs. Just think if the Bills would have drafted Derek Carr or Russell Wilson or Cousins or Prescott or Dalton how the perception and prospects for this franchise would be dramatically different? You are making the mistake that is often made when evaluating qbs in that you are excessively scrutinizing prospects to the extent that you are allowing the pursuit of perfection to be the enemy of the good. What has condemned this franchise to wretched historical mediocrity is its failure to act when opportunities existed. By recommending a dithering approach on the qb issue you are promoting a status quo approach that has this backwater stuck in the muck of mediocrity. Maybe that's the road you want to take but not I. The EJ pick was simply a bad pick. He was a third to fourth round talent who was selected in the first round. It was a gross mis-evaluation. If your solution to not making a mistake when drafting a qb is not to take a qb then you that is a novel approach to take. Thanks for such innovative thinking.

You want something to laugh about? The Bills have not had a franchise qb for over 20 years. Do you want to hear something else that is really hilarious? The Bills have not made the playoffs for 18 consecutive years and still counting in a system designed for parity. You want to hear even more comical material? The Bills have a history of passing on good qb prospects that other teams are willing to select and move forward with. There is a good chance that the Bills will be in a position to take the first qb in this draft. The odds are nil that they will select a qb in a high round. That's what the Bills do. That's why they are one of the least successful franchises in modern time. Some people might consider that to be a laughable situation and others not so much.

Any way you want to look at the Marrone saga no one can come away from it and say that Marrone was treated poorly. He wanted to leave, so he left. End of story. He was looking to leave and made overtures before his buy out clause expired. That in itself is questionable behavior. I have no ill will for him. He was far from being a prized coaching commodity. In this league pedestrian coaches are easy to replace.

From a contractual standpoint Marrone acted unethically. I'm not naive and a purist when discussing how things actually work in life and business. But searching for another job with another team in the NFL while bound by a contract is not permissible. The Jets were interested in his services. However, when stories came out about it they quickly disassociated themselves from him because they were well aware of the tampering implications. I may be wrong and would invite legal input from others but it was unethical and a breach of contract for him to apply for another position while under contract without the knowledge and permission of the company he was working under. That violation of terms of contract also did hapen with his under the table application for the Univ. of Michigan job. I'm not a Marrone basher. But let's be frank here he was an insufferable pricck. He was a tough person to deal with and a tough act to be around. Whaley made plenty of mistakes in his job but Marrone also made plenty of mistakes too. Whether he left when he left odds are that his marriage to the organization was not going to be a long lasting relationship. Pegula is a new owner and an earnest owner. You won't find a more supportive owner. I'm confident that Terry and Kim would not allow this fool coach with an autocratic attitude be involved with their business for too long of a duration if he decided to stay.

There is more to the Marrone departure story that you have not noted For one, Marrone through his agent thought he had a possible behind the curtain deal with the Jets. When word leaked out about it the Jets immediately denied it out of fear tampering violations. Marrone also had a behind the curtain application for the Michigan job. It's obvious that he was looking for options to his current situation. The owner was under no obligation to give Marrone's staff an extension. They had contracts they were working under. The problem with Marrone was that he was full of himself. He thought he was in command and dictating terms. The bottom line is this insufferable individual took the money and walked out on his own accord. The simple truth is that he was the one who blindsided the organization and not the other way around.

Marrone walked on his own accord. The contract he was working under had buy out clause that he exercised. The team had no ability to force him to stay when he invoked the buy out clause within the stipulated time frame.

The Bills didn't let him go. He walked on his own accord. In hindsight it was probably wrong to trade up to get Watkins at the expense of a future first round pick. So on this issue Marrone's position was more right but not necessarily his conduct on this matter. My position on Whaley has been changing much of it due to how he has handled the qb issue. But when describing Whaley and how he has operated collaboration is the hallmark of his style. There is never going to be total agreement on players and prospects within the staff. But that doesn't mean that he isn't the type of manager who doesn't encourage input from everyone involved in the process. I can't say for sure how much authority McDermott has compared to Whaley within the normal working relationship range between a HC and GM. But what I am sure of is that because of Whaley's collaborative approach to his job that it is not going to change how he functions.

What you are now saying over the first quoted segment is that the owners knew that the loud Rex was an utter incompetent. That makes no sense. Of course everyone knew that Rex was an obnoxious character who garnered attention. But that side of his persona can't be separated from his fraudulent side as a coach. He left the Jets in shambles. That is certainly part of the hiring consideration that can't be divorced from the selection. Again, what you are essentially saying is that the owner knew in advance exactly what he was going to get when he hired him. That makes no sense to me. With respect to your second quoted comment about the Patriots does not make sense to me also. The Patriots are certainly not known to be a warm organization but what they are known for is winning and excellence. That's the universal perception. Their organization is the template for success. Their organization from top to bottom is know to be not only the best at what they do but also to be ahead of everyone on how they manage their organization. While the Bills are considered a backwater franchise the Pats are universally acknowledged to be one of the best sports operations in the world. That is far from having a "terrible perception" as you so stated. They certainly don't have a warm perception but they have the prized perception of being the best at what they do.

You didn't fully capture my central point. The Rex hire had a serious negative effect on the football operation. It created disorganization and a lack of coherency within the football side of the operation. Pegula hired Rex and the outcome was predictable, and it reverberated throughout the building. My point centered around the fact that because of the owners' hiring it created the expected chaotic environment. As far as the hiring of an organizational consultant my response is: Who cares? Will the new consultant help Whaley or the owner give better presentations. At this stage in their adult lives not significantly much better. But again is that such a big deal? For Whaley the substative problem isn't his public persona. It has more to do with his work product. The same issue applies to Terry P. Who cares if he isn't publicly articulate? That doesn't mean that he isn't capable. It was the owner who made a bad hire and it reverberated throughout the building. To his credit he was not afraid of quickly correcting a problem, a problem of his creation. I'm well aware that the football business is a very encompassing and complex business beyond the football side of the operation. What can't be said is that the football side of the business has been run effectively and coherently. And that is reflected by the level of play on the field. The point that I stressed in my prior response dealt with the fact that the problems on the football side of the business were created by the owner himself. It's inarguable that the franchise was set back with his Rex hire. Then he had to go back and address it again. That was my main point.

Give me a break! What did the Pegulas expect? You are portraying the Rex weapon of mass explosion as a surprise. The Pegulas got exactly what they wanted with the hiring of Rex. They wanted the nondescript and irrelevant team in the league to get a higher profile. They hired a huckster who was unceremonious dumped from his last job and got the same display of loud incompetence here. Rex left the Jets in a shambles and he left the Bills in a state of disarray. Now the owner is trying to alter the perception that his organization that was in an actual state of chaos is now a well run and professionally operated organization. The fans of western NY may not be sophisticated but they aren't fools. If they wanted to hire this employee and messaging coach it should have not have made it public. If the owner wants to change the perception that the Bills are a second-rate operation (as they are) then their attention should be on making the football operation better. Winning organizations have the public focusing on the product on the field. Losing organizations have the public focusing more attention on the way the organization is run. The organization's reputation of being a discordant and ineptly run operation are truths that are difficult to hide. It's reflected on game days.

Recently Vladimir Putin called a meeting to address the problem with his image. A recent poll indicated that a plurality of people considered him to be a killer. When asked for a suggestion as to how to improve his image an attendee stood up and offered the suggestion that he should just stop killing people. Putin responded by pulling out a gun and shooting the person with the recommendation between the eyes. He then had him dragged out and hung on a lamp post for everyone to see. Vladimir then asked for suggestions for improving his image. The next response from a trembling attendee said that he should hire a public relations firm to improve his image. Putin smiled and gave the aid kisses on both of his flushed cheeks. Prior to concluding the meeting Putin asked if there were any other suggestions to soften his harsh image. From the back of the room someone asked "what ever happened to Baghdad Bob? I heard he is an excellent spokesperson for a person with a bad image."