JohnC

You make a great point. What stats don't measure are lost opportunities. For example, on a second read on a passing play the receiver could be open for a long gain but instead he gets restless and runs for a first down. The stats on that play would indicate that he gained a first down and the running stats would be inflated. The reality is that he missed an opportunity to make a big play that could affect the outcome of a game. Going through the box score the positive stats would not indicate him faltering when the big play was there to be had. When the coaches and front office watch the game tape they come away with a much different assessment of how the qb performed compared to the casual observer.

Excellent post. Very incisive with good examples reinforcing your points. Your point about getting the right mix of veteran players to show the young players how to prepare and act professionally is spot on. On a smaller scale hockey is another sport where the right mixture of players is needed to be successful.

What's your opinion on Mel Kiper and Tod McShay?

Thanks for the information. Even if the coaches were available what substantive things could they say? It would be a cliche-fest. They certainly couldn't comment on the qb situation because it is suc a delicate situation. The status of their own free agents? They are not going to say anything on that topic. At this stage of the year I'm not even interested in hearing Whaley's super-cautious discussion on anything. He's not going to be candid on any personnel issues and he shouldn't. What I'm most interesting in following is what the staff actually does.

The problem with the strip down strategy to accumulate draft picks is that success is predicated on good drafting. If your drafts turn out to be poor to average the over reliance on the draft to catapult you from misery to respectability won't work. When a franchise such as Cleveland (and to a lesser extent Buffalo) becomes mired in generational failure it becomes an unappealing place to attract free agents. In today's NFL success is predicated on having a qb, good drafting, making smart mid-level free agent selections and organizational stability. As you point out they are taking an all out and risky approach to rebuilding. And as you noted they will be an interesting team to follow. Sometimes you succeed through analytics and sometimes you fail because of the poor use of analytics. This will be a good case study.

Do you know what elevated the ranking of McKenzie as a GM? You said it---the drafting of Carr. Do you know what has lowered the ranking of Whaley? Actions such as the bypassing on Carr when he had the opportunity to draft him, even with a trade down. Whaley was bold in drafting Watkins by giving up another first round pick to move up a few spaces to select him in a receiver rich draft year. It would have made more sense for this organization that lacked a franchise qb to be bold and take a risk to select a quality qb prospect before using that expensive draft maneuver for a position that had an abundance of very good prospects. People can discuss how good a job he has done as a GM with his personnel decisions. The positive personnel moves are being squandered because he hasn't been able to adequately address the qb position. Until he does that he can't be considered successful. If one rates his drafts collectively they have been mediocre. The draft is the bloodline of a franchise. (Which you acknowledge.) You can blame the change in staff and schemes as an excuse for the team's mediocre record under his stewardship. That has absolutely nothing to do with the qb situation which is his responsibility. His record is his record. It is a stretch to say it is average.

Alex Smith has a lot of good traits. He is smart and knows how to read defenses. He uses the whole field when passing. He doesn't have a gun for an arm, although it is adequate. He is accurate in the short and medium passing game. As K-9 pointed out he is suited for the WCO. My main concern with him is that he too quickly resorts to throwing underneath and make the safe play without willing to take risks throwing it downfield. He seems to be afflicted with the "Trent Edwards" cautious syndrome that limits his game. If he can cut it loose a little more and not be so reluctant to at times force it he could be a viable option if TT departs.

We all have opinions on this issue. There are reasonable arguments for the various positions. However, as I stated in my last post it just seems to me that the front office doesn't seem to be bothered by the prospects of losing him. I'm a strong advocate for drafting a qb in the first round or second round. While many believe that this is a weak qb class I don't. While believing that the qb class isn't as bad as many make it out to be I acknowledge that there is no qb in this draft that should be starting right away. So what qbs are on the market who might the front office be interested in? Cutler? Alex Smith? Foles? I simply don't know. I'm not even sure what direction the organization is going to take from a rebuild or go for it strategy? Once an official determination has been made with respect to TT then we should have a better sense what is going on here.

With respect to the highlighted area even if the receiver corps is improved is he going to be more proficient throwing middle of the field passes? Or even with an upgrade to the recipients of his passes will he be better able to make seam passes or anticipatory throws or be able to go through his progressions? I'm not arguing that with better receivers he won't be a better qb. Because he will. What I am questioning is even with receiver upgrades is his passing game still going to be so limited and so basic that it will not give the team a chance to seriously compete. What is lost in the energetic and extended exchanges here is the position of the organization. Even if it is determined that TT should remain with the team it is being done apparently without much enthusiasm by Whaley. While the consensus of outsiders is that the Bills should keep TT, even if only as a bridge qb, the organization he has played for and has closely scrutinized his performances doesn't seem to be too impressed with him or even fearful of losing him. That is a clear indication what the thinking is inside of the building at OBD.

I would have no problem giving up a third round pick for Connor Cook. I would also have no problem using a first round pick (trade down or not) for a qb in this year's draft. What I want to see is a more concerted effort to find a long term franchise qb. Is TT the answer? Probably not. But I'm not against keeping him on his current contract with the proviso that this organization doesn't stop in its pursuit of a franchise qb. If TT or Cardale or a recently drafted qb or a qb such as Cook demonstrates that he can handle the position then that is a development that everyone should celebrate. Connor Cook or Prescott would have been reasonable selections in the third round last year. The Bills didn't act until the fourth round to select Cardale. That's the standard hesitating behavior that has kept this franchised sitting out the playoff experience. Being flexible and creative instead of being passive in addressing the qb issue is what is required to get the position adequately staffed.

Whaley was late to see the light on EJ. Marrone made a quick determination on EJ and forcefully let him know that the qb situation was untenable. No one now is disputing Marrone's quick judgment on the qb this organization wanted him to rely on wasn't right. Nix made the EJ selection. But make no mistake about it that Whaley and his staff did the scouting and ranking of qbs in that poor qb crop. The qb selected in dropped down first round selection was a third to fourth round caliber of player. The failure in that evaluation and selection is as much on Whaley as it was on Nix, the GM who officially made the pick. When the argument is made that a qb has to have elite or very good receivers to make the qb presentable then that is an admission that your qb is inadequate. The issue should center around having a good enough qb to make your average receiver corps better. This organization as usual has it backwards.

What you are essentially saying is that the boat is well-designed with the exception that it has a gaping hole in the bottom. You know as well as I do that the NFL of today is not the NFL of 10-15 years ago. The game is built around the qb. You can have roster flaws and still be successful if you have a franchise qb. You can have a solid roster but without a legitimate franchise qb you go nowhere. It's been that way for years. What's perplexing to the point of being weird is that this organization continues to act almost to the point of indifference toward finding a solution at qb, a solution that will diminish many of the other problems plaguing this clueless organization. Where's the urgency? No one is arguing that finding a franchise qb is easy, because it's not. But this organization has let opportunities go by only to let other teams prosper by our passivity on this issue. It's not only crazy----it is an act of malfeasance. What is the point of making a bold and expensive draft day maneuver to acquire Watkins, a receiver in a receiver rich draft class when you don't have a good enough qb to utilize his sterling talents? If you are going to make a bold move why not do it for a qb who when developed can elevate a roster? As I said in other posts this sleepy front office has had opportunities to select good qb prospects. They let the opportunities slip by to the benefit of other franchises. If an organization has failed for more than a generation one would think that more urgency would be demonstrated to correct the problem that would give you the best opportunity to be successful. With respect to your comment that he has been hamstrung by changing systems and coaches my response is simple and blunt: Bullshiiit! Doug Whaley is the GM. It doesn't matter what fool is coaching his team and what ill-fitting system he is running. The priority for the GM is to acquire a legitimate franchise qb to give his team the best chance to succeed. No more excuses.

Let's examine two moves by Whaley that brought in two talented players to the roster. Whaley gave up a first round pick to move up a few spots to acquire Watkins in a receiver rich draft year. Watkins is a sterling talent and is capable of being an elite receiver. The problem is that he hasn't had the caliber of qb that can maximize his talent. So the player that was costly was under-utilized. Is that smart and forward thinking? Atlanta gave up a lot of picks to draft Julio Jones. He's one of the best, if not the best, receivers in the game. The Falcons had Matt Ryan at qb so Jones's talents could be exploited to the max. Another example is that Whaley gave out a above market contract to sign Clay. I have no problem with that move because we needed a TE who can go downfield as a receiver. Clay on a team with a good qb can be a very good receiving TE. With the Bills he is neutered because of the caliber of qbing. Again, the talent is wasted so the value is diminished. When judging a GM you have to look at the body of work. Not all moves are going to be successful and not all moves are going to fail. At best I would give him a C grade, and with him I have had a history of being an easy grader. No longer. I'm becoming more stern with him, and that isn't going to change until he adequately addresses the qb position.

One of my main criticisms of Whaley is that he has a patchwork mentality to roster building rather than a conceptual approach to building a roster. As Badol has smartly observed the short-sighted approach to drafting at the expense of the best talent available is a failed strategy. He acts more like a scout akin to Country Buddy rather than having a road map to building a roster with balanced contracts commensurate with talent level. There is simply no excuse for an organization to go 20 years without a legitimate franchise qb. It's comparable to a baseball GM not dedicating any resources to assembling a pitching staff. Without it you can't compete no matter what else you have done with the roster. It's just stupid. And I'm tired of it. What's odd about this upcoming season is that we don't know what the direction of the franchise is. Is there going to be a mini-rebuild or is the approach going to be the standard patchwork and fix it as you go? The approach that has gotten this franchise nowhere meaningful. What's the qb situation going to be? There will be good prospects in this draft but will this front office act in its normal cowardly way and go with a retread approach? I have no problem with the retread approach if a qb is selected in this draft. My leanings are toward Mahomes but I am open to other players. This is an unsettling time in that we don't know what is being planned. What makes it more unsettling is that this ramshackle organization has never demonstrated an ability to competently execute any plays other than make it up as you go along. It's so sad.

After reading your post/s (excellent analysis) I get the suspicion that there is going to be an overhaul of the roster. It certainly is not going to be at the Cleveland level but greater than what most of us are expecting. The timing is right because we are starting with a new coaching staff bringing in players that fit their scheme and character preferences. With respect to Tyrod being our best option for this year and next as an outsider in the DC/MD area I have heard numerous reports that TT is not in the Bills plans and he will be let go. Is it true? I can't say but what I do know is that TT and his representation aren't foolish enough to make contract concessions when there is a market for him outside of Buffalo. I have not been too critical of Whaley. Compared to his unqualified predecessors he is an upgrade. Now I'm starting to become stricter in my assessments. His roster has major gaps and the cap to talent ratio is out of balance. His drafting over the past few years is in general mediocre and the accumulated mistakes from those drafts have weighed this franchise down. Where I am harsh on him and getting harsher by the day is due to the fact that he has failed to adequately address the qb position. His lack of urgency or creativity in focusing on that priority has frustrated me more than any other issue. The Bills roster as it is presently constituted is a 7-9 to 8-8 caliber of team. We're stuck in the muck of mediocrity with no quick fix. One solution is to go Trumpian and divert attention: Blame Jerry Sullivan and the BN. That will buy time until the next new plan is introduced.

So what you are basically saying is that by drafting so poorly in a number of consecutive years that you benefit from a cap standpoint because your drafted players are not worth keeping and spending on when their contracts are up? Or another way of saying it is that there is an upside from being so inept. The repeated poor drafting is at the core why this is a failed franchise. Because of the disproportionate misses when drafting the talent base is shrunk and you don't have to deal with the more expensive second contracts. The Bills should have the motto: Being Dumb is actually Being Smart.

Chicago carries the puck into the zone while Buffalo dumps and chases. Without question Chicago is overwhelmingly a better team. It was apparent that the overloaded and compacted schedule caught up with the team. Buffalo was an exhausted team with nothing left in the tank. The scheduling is an act of brutality against the players. The Patrick Kane goal at the net was like a player toying with the other team. While he was dangling the puck the opposition was frozen with fright.

Wasn't Kamil Loud a silent player.

Don't forget Kane's contribution to the mini-surge. PlezMd1 needs to be reminded.

The record for teams coming out of the bye week is something like 3 wins out of 10 games. When you look at the standings there is such a large group of teams vying for the few remaining playoff spots. I would love to see the Sabres earn a spot because the fans really deserve it. But regardless if the team qualifies for it or not playing meaningful games with a sense of desperation as the season is exciting to follow.

What did you want him to write about in the offseason? Tyrod's status? The new head coach who is not making appearances because he is secluded working? Skurski is going through the list of free agents on the team and commenting on their status. Bush falls in that category. So what's so objectionable about that? This news bashing is stupid. There is a simple solution: Don't read the News if it gets you so agitated. Go to other sources of material and avoid the paper that you find so upsetting. There is a weirdness bordering on neuroses with respect to the responses toward the BN and selected writers. If you are so bothered by them just ignore them. The newspaper business in general has been stripped down and financially denuded. The output is the byproduct of that slimming down. What the heck did you expect?

This was a good win against a good team that was surging after a coaching change. Lehner was the first star in this game. Collectively the three young Rocherster call ups (Bailey, Rodriques and Baptiste) inject speed and energy to the team. Bailey is getting more confident and and carrying the puck more the more he plays. In my mind he is a top two line forward. Our blue line unit is lacking. That's obvious. You just have to ride the tired horses because there is little option other than using Falk and Fedun more. The best part of the Kane goal is that he was in front of the net when he deflected it in. He needs to be there more. Was Reinhart injured or ill?

With Cousins you can run a west coast offense and a legitimate pro passing offense. TT's stats don't reflect the plays that he leaves on the table and because of his limitations the designed passing offense is a simplified passing offense that doesn't meet the average NFL standard. TT has a stronger arm than Cousins and without question the Bills qb throws a much better long pass. It's really quite superb. But there are few seam passes and throws to the middle of the field compared to what Cousins can proficiently do. As you so smartly pointed out if you get a qb such as Cousins you don't need to go out and bring in another veteran qb and you don't need to use a high pick this year or next year to address the position. Sure Cousins would be costly but that's what happens when a second-rate organization can't address its own needs through the draft. The Bills have not had a legitimate franchise qb since the departure of Kelly, twenty years ago. This organization should be ashamed of itself!

I live in the Md/DC area. So I get a deluge of stories about him and his contract saga. Cousins and his agent have made a determination that if he was on the market he would get a max or near max deal. That is his marker. His position is if you don't want to give me a max contract on a long term deal then either trade me to a team willing to do so or franchise me. He is willing to be franchised every year because he is getting his top shelf money through the repeated tag approach. Cousins is not an elite qb with exceptional physical abilities but he is a very good qb. What would I give up for him? I would not be afraid to give up two #1's for him because by getting the quarterbacking that he provides he instantly elevates your team. When you give up two picks you are in reality only giving up one pick because you are getting him in return. There comes a point where either you get a good qb or you don't. It's time to stop being fearful and not act. If the Bills were not willing to pay the asking price then draft a qb such as Mahomes and develop what you got.

Babock wanted the Toronto job. He played Pegula like a fine tuned fiddle. Byslma is fine as a coach. He's certainly not the best and the most flexible but he is a good coach. The stumbles are player stumbles, not due to coaching. This team has roster issues, most notably on defense, that coaching has little to do with other than make do. Just watch, if the Sabres squeeze their way into the playoffs the rock throwers will become fawning supporters. They will be throwing rose peddles at him like rice at a wedding. Please, just calm down and stop panicking. If the Sabres win today against a tough opponent the silence on the coaching issue will be deafening. Just to remind you Canisius beat Buffalo. They beat Rider last night. Their season under Witherspoon has gone better than expected. UB is not only a good team they are an entertaining team to watch. They shoot well and play a fast but controlled game. They are well coached and the team is getting better as the season moves on. I like them a lot.