JohnC

Very frequently classes are designated as weak qb classes. And in those predetermined classes there are always good qbs to be found. It's not surprising that an organization that has shown an inability to properly evaluate qbs has struggled to find a franchise qb over a twenty year period. While people and this slow footed organization seek the ideal qb they allow good prospects to slip away. Buffalo waits for the right moment while other organizations seize the opportunity that we allow to pass. This year there are at least four qb prospects that would be good qb prospects. The Jauron/Levy mentality of building a roster from the defensive backside will result in this backwater franchise to draft a DB and cluelessly be proud of itself. It is this small-minded patchwork mentality that has kept this franchise stuck in a shiiit pile for almost a quarter of a century of irrelevance. It's tiresome and it is stupid!

Lehner was superb in this game. What our defense did very well is keep the area clear so he had a clear view. For most of the game I thought that Ottawa had a territorial advantage. Observations: Bailey is a speed demon. Tired of Risto having his stick broken. Okposo's goal was pretty. He is really strong on his skates. Rienhart and Jack are in sync Getting McCabe and Gorges back was helpful. Ottawa can skate. Kane and Foligno are both tough and gritty. The trade Kane crowd should be banished from the forum.

Whaley is a bright guy. When people from other organizations were asked about upcoming young front office staffers his name constantly came up. He was highly thought of in Pittsburgh. If he left Buffalo he would quickly be added to the Steeler payroll. Clearly he's not a polished public speaker. But what inhibits him is that in his GM capacity he can't speak candidly about what he thinks about his players and his coaches. He can't even candidly speak about other teams and their players. When it comes to draft prospects he is understandingly going to be guarded in hoping not to spill proprietary information. I understand when a person because of his job and his role has to be cautious with his comments. No doubt it is going to inhibit his fluency. However, with a little more effort he is capable of improving his speaking presentation to make it more tolerable to hear. With respect to the owner his chances of improving his communication skills is much smaller, bordering on zero. His response would be that he is still comforted with the knowledge that when he goes to bed he is still a billionaire and counting.

How about some stale donuts from Horton's? Those used basketballs are essential for practice. When you are low budget you have to be parsimonious.

The issue I have with Cardale or any qb prospect is his accuracy. If a qb doesn't have sharp accuracy in college it is improbable (not impossible) that he will have it in the pros where the windows are tighter and the speed of the game is much faster. Without a doubt he has intriguing tools related to his size and arm strength. I'm not criticizing his selection and investment on development. It's just that I think the odds are against him making it in the long run because of the accuracy issue. I would love to be wrong and am still very much open about him.

Does Syracuse have any extra non-playing bench players it could send to Canisius? They will get playing time instead of biding their time clapping on the bench. Preferably tall over short!

Excellent post. Your sentiments are my sentiments.

Your point is well taken. But it seems that the combine is being downgraded by many of the players, on the advice of their reps, who either do not participate in it or if they show up they limit the events they are willing to participate in. It seems to me that the post combine staged workouts are becoming more popular and important.

As much as I have harshly criticized Rex Ryan the one thing I respect him for is that he always stood tall at the podium whether it was after a good win or a disastrous. He was somewhat bombastic after a win but that was Rex. However, after a typical loss marred by undisciplined play on the field and from the sidelines he answered all the question from all the reporters. Stupid questions and good questions were both handled with dignity and class. He didn't shrink and become surly and impatient when the hot lights were on him after a loss that involved a lot of bad play. Obviously he didn't enjoy explaining what happened on the field after a humiliating loss. But he handled it in a professional manner. This organization acts as if it is above communicating with the press. It definitely prefers dealing with fawning toads over the more aggressive critics. If some members of the press are vindictive priiiicks, so what? You don't think that some players and staff people aren't also insufferable priiicks? Trying to get a comment out of Mario Williams or Dareus after a game certainly is not a joyful experience. How about dealing with arsehole Marrone? A loser who acts like he is a winner. Using the excuse that a member/s of the media is a revolting human being and is unprofessional is not a valid excuse to respond in kind. Watch Jerry Jones answer questions after a loss. He doesn't dismiss anyone even when the questions being tossed at him are meant to draw a reaction more than elicit an answer . Terry P could learn a valuable lesson on how to deal with the press by watching Jones perform like a virtuoso when dealing with the press. Dealing with the press is an inescapable part of the sports business that the owner chose to enter. There is level of arrogance and condescension coming from the ownership and organization that is not earned. This franchise is a historically losing and incompetent franchise. It hasn't earned the right to act dismissively toward a segment of the business (media) that by its nature is promoting your business. (Badol's incisive point) The ultimate payback for an organization that feels that it is under siege and is unfairly portrayed is to win. Evidently, it prefers being involved with distracting skirmishes than going about the business of winning.

The team he played for last year was not good. His receiving corps was second-rate. I watched a couple of Irish games and it seemed that their HC was shell shocked. If I recall correctly the coaching staff was shuffled during the season. There are good qb prospects in this draft. None of them seem ready to play immediately. That's the norm and I am fine with that. The Bills are going to do what they normally do by bypassing qb prospects for the more highly rated player on the board. The net effect is a status quo status.

The Bills are entering into a second generation of repulsive play. They haven't had a legitimate franchise qb in twenty years. They have been out of the playoffs for more than generation in a system designed for parity. If you want the writers to be more uplifting and less reflexively negative then run a more competent operation that can produce a respectable product on the field. Do you think that WGR or TBN find it appealing reporting on a product that at times can be excruciating painful to watch and cover? What's the positive story line? A team seriously competing for a playoff? Or a team actually in a playoff? Every year it is the same pathetic scenario. You don't think that year in and year out same dispiriting story gets tiresome for the people who cover the team? This focus on the media is a distraction from the real story which is the garbage product on the field. If you want to direct your anger and frustration direct it at the right target. This blame the media for one's own angst is so off the mark and Trumpian!

Terry Pegula is a billionaire who has been successful not only in his energy businesses but also the variety of fields of endeavor that he is entering. Let's face the obvious--- he is a horrible public speaker. And let's also face the obvious that he seems incapable of adroitly responding to questions that he should know are coming. When you get into a field of endeavor such as politics and sports in any fashion and you struggle dealing with criticism then you are in the wrong field of endeavor. It's in the fabric of the environment in which you chose to work in and you can't escape it. If anyone in the sport ranging from players, to front office to the ownership can't handle the predictable questions from the irascible Jerry Sulivan then that it their problem, not the reporter's. I like the owner and I'm glad he owns our hometown pro teams. But he needs to work on his communication and interacting skills. They are not good.

Art Briles was overseeing a band of personally recruited rapists. This moral degenerate who worked for a Christian College saw nothing and heard nothing. In his perverted way of thinking he was the one being persecuted. If he had a daughter who was ganged raped his disgusting attitude toward abuse would certainly change.

Whether he is right or wrong, so what? If he finds the tame and small number of reporters covering the team too rough then how would he handle the New York zoo crowd or the Philly hoodlum crowd of reporters. Is the Buffalo coverage unfair when it says that he can't proficiently read defenses? I would say no. Is the Buffalo coverage unfair when it says that he doesn't make use of the center of the field as well as most other qbs in the passing game? I would say no. Is the coverage unfair when it says that he is hesitant to throw into tight coverage and too quickly resorts to running? I would say no. When one is a qb at any level criticism is going to be disproportionately directed toward the qb, fair or not. When one is a qb at any level credit is going to be disproportionately directed toward the qb whether it is deserved or not. That's the nature of the position. Your point that the Buffalo media people covering the team aren't as schooled is fair and true. But one of the reasons for that is that they are covering a team that has been irrelevant and boring for more than a generation. So the best and the brightest are not going to be attracted to this sinkhole of a product. TT is a fine fellow. He is a high character guy and his work habits are exemplary. I just don't think it is smart to publicly lament one's plight with the media when overall this market has been relatively soft in its coverage of him. My advice to him is to put on the chest shield and take the slings. It goes with the territory.

I'm not against the rule that anyone involved with domestic violence should not be allowed to participate in that event. In reality it is simply a symbolic reprimand. Even with the sanction the player will still continue to train and prepare for his pro day which might be more important than the combine, an event where a lot of players skip events such as running a 40 with a phantom injury. It's now getting to the point where the better players are instructed by their advisers/agents to skip the event and focus on preparing for the pro day tests. For me too much weight is placed on how a player performs on these athletic tests and allowing those performances to skew what they have seen on game day tapes .

The author of that article is astute and perspicacious. You holy angels keep forgetting that Bad Boys don't always remain Bad Boys.

I'm sure I'm coming off being stubborn but I'm not for trading Kane for defensive help. This team doesn't have a surplus of goal scorers. Even if he is a third line goal scorer then that is nothing to scoff at. A goal is a goal. There is no disputing that this team has to upgrade the defensive corps. Next year Guhle will be added to the roster. With his addition you have McCabe, Risto, Guhle and maybe Kulikov. Kulikov has been hurt this season and it is evident that it has been impaired. So there is a possibility that he can upgrade his game and maybe be a top four or at worst a third pairing defenseman. Money is certainly going to be shaved off of the cap this offseason so we should be able to add a defenseman or two.. Without a doubt this blue line unit is not top shelf but the future prospect for it is not as dire as many make it out to be. I urge caution and recommend patience. Trust the process----it's working although some are too impatient to see it.

Poor scheme and fit relative to talent. Overlapping coaching and too many voices in the players' ears. Lack of discipline and intelligence. etc etc. The difference between winning and losing can be miniscule. Marrone had many faults as a coach and as a person but he did instill a degree of accountability and discipline. When compared to the Rex regime is was evident. I believe that with good coaching the Bills could have won two to maybe three more games last year. The outlook toward this team would be much different and sunnier.

I would like to get your thoughts on this Ranger game. For the portions of the game that I watched the Sabres played just as well or almost as well as the Rangers. The difference was a stellar game by Lundquist. We had some opportunities at the goalie doorstep but the Ranger Swede held strong. The point I'm making is that of course we have needs but it isn't so dire. There is no doubt that we have to strengthen the blue line but Guhle will be added and Kulikov who I thought played well should be healthier. With Risto, McCabe, Guhle and maybe Kulivov we have a core to work with. Bogo is a disappointment more because of my expectations than actual play. I don't want the GM to panic and sell off a player such as Kane and create another hole. Because of the way he plays he doesn't seem be be a top two line player but as a third line scorer he would be a luxury that most teams don't have. I'm not as invested as others about making the playoffs. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter. I still believe the trajectory is upwards. Although many fans are disappointed I consider them on track.

If the Browns gave up their second first round pick (#12) for Jimmy G it would still be a reasonable deal for them because it would still allow them to acquire an impactful defensive player with its first pick and get a young qb who should be ready to play immediately compared to drafting a qb. If the Browns were a little imaginative they could trade down a tad and come away with a good defensive player and have more picks to work with. The Patriots dangling players on the market shouldn't influence the Browns too much. They can do their own calculations without worrying about the standard charades going on this time of year. As the draft approaches the intensity and frequency of the rumors will swirl. They probably already know now what they are going to do or be willing to do. If you want to see the rumor mill be hyper-active the Billls could dangle TT and see what the market is willing to offer? Houston, Cleveland and maybe Arizona would certainly be interested. I have no clue of what Whaley and the owner think their team is currently at? If they really believe they are close to climbing the ranks then it will take a more patchwork approach to adding talent to the roster. If Whaley and the owner believe that this team has to be reconfigured then it would make more sense to absorb some immediate pain by trading a player such as TT and getting a return for a player that you are really not invested in.

Do you want an obvious example of why this organization is in disarray? It's not that the loquacious HC failed because that was predictable. Stupid crippling key decisions by ownership and management continue to set this franchise back even when it appears that it is clawing forward. Not only was the hiring of this huckster ridiculous but giving him a lucrative five year contract with the team having no options within that period compounded that stupendous mistake. When Rex was given the boot in NY he made excuses. When Rex was given the boot in Buffalo he made excuses. What's the surprise? We got what we bought.

This team is currently built to be a 6-10 to 10-6 team. With better coaching last year this 7-9 team could have been a 9-7 or maybe even stretching it to a 10-6 season. We are stuck in the middle of the pack. If one objectively reviews the caliber of our drafting we've had over the past 5 or so seasons it is difficult to believe that this organization's drafting prowess is at a level where with a low level rebuild the draft can provide the impetus to get us to the next level. TT is probably going to be retained this year and the following year. Does anyone really believe that based on how our front office had dealt with TT it is enthusiastic about its qb situation? Without deliberately trying to be pessimistic it seems to me that the way this roster is constructed and the status of our qb situation this franchise will continue to be a middle of the pack type team hoping to be a fringe wild-card team and continuing to fall short. side note: This team should do the right thing and trade Kyle Williams to the Cowboys so this honorable person can have an opportunity to play in a playoff game. It doesn't matter what we get back in the trade. He'll never have the experience of playing in the playoffs if he remains with the Bills. Do the right thing because he deserves better!

Al Davis won his court case against the league when it tried to prevent the moving of his franchise. The approval by the owners is a pro forma exercise that in of itself has no bearing. The only thing that comes out of a move is the payment for relocation. And that can be waived just as it might with the Charger move to LA. As you pointed out the lesson to be learned in this chaotic saga is don't piss off the prickly billionaire with the bad hair. Just be compliant and say "yes sir" and act like a good subservient toad and the deal will get done. Learning how to bow and prostrate oneself should be taught in business school. The class would be called Kiss Arse 101.

You are taking the wrong lesson from the EJ pick. This constant reference to the EJ selection in order to justify not making qb selections is off the mark. The lesson that the EJ pick demonstrates has little to do with the risk associated with forcing the issue on the qb position. The real lesson to be learned is that the EJ pick was an atrocious pick because it was a bad evaluation of a player regardless of position. He was a third to fourth round talent and he was selected in the first round. He was a bad pick not because he was a qb but because he was simply a bad pick from an evaluation standpoint. Again, regardless of position. His selection was grotesquely wrong because he was poorly scouted. His own college coach was surprised that he was taken in the first round. What does that say about the caliber of our scouting? The lesson to be learned by the EJ fiasco is not to shrink when quality qb prospects are on the board----the lesson to be learned is to do a better job in evaluating qbs. Your point that the Bills were committed to a mistake in the EJ selection and couldn't consider qbs in the following years such as Carr, Grap and Bridgewater is another example of stupendous incompetence. When Marrone saw that it appeared that he had no choice other than to start EJ do you know how he responded? He basically told Whaley to go F***ck himself and get a real qb who can give him a scintilla chance to compete. So Whaley out of desperation found Orton in the junk pile. How long did it take for Marrone to determine what EJ was? It was immediately. So now you are trying to use the argument that because this albatross was on the team that it couldn't draft a better option at that position. That is not only nonsense it is an absurd position to take. What you are basically arguing is that the Bills made a mistake with the EJ selection and that should be the basis for our timidity in our pursuit of upgrading that position. That is not only an unpersuasive position to take it is a self-crippling position to take. Making mistakes in the draft is an aspect of the draft that is inescapable. That's the nature of the endeavor. It's how you respond to those mistakes that is important. A prostrating response to failure is not a brave response that leads to success. When you continue to do what has led you to failure the outcome will continue to be the same dispiriting failure. When an organization that hasn't had a franchise qb for a generation doesn't act with urgency and boldness to solve that critcal problem then it has behaved in a way that borders on a dereliction of duty. You and I have gone in circles on this issue for a long time. The last thing I'm going to do is get into the Jauron/Levy school of antiquity to solve an issue that has plagued this organization for a withering generation. Selecting a DB at the expense of taking the best qb prospect available is a recipe that has been followed for a long time. It is a recipe for continuous failure. I say this with politeness and respect: On this issue I will never agree with you; and on this issue I say it with sad confidence.

The not so oblique point I wanted to make is that a qb can have a low first round or high second round grade and make a tremendous impact on a team. Khalil Mack was a top of the board ranked player in his draft year and was selected near the top of the draft by the Raiders. If you gave the Raiders a choice of keeping either Mack or Carr the Raiders without hesitation choose Carr. The Houston Texans selected Clowny with the first pick of his draft year. After a few injured years he finally has turned into a dynamic defensive player. Without any doubt the Texans would gladly give him up for a good (not great) qb. I'm not trying to blow smoke up your wazoo but I trust your measured judgments on evaluating qb prospects than the Bills scouting staff. Over the years they have demonstrated by their selections and bypassing prospects that they don't have a grasp on how to evaluate the qb position. Just think, Country Nix traded up in the third round to draft a track receiver who predictably couldn't cut it in the pros bypassing Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins. Both of these players would have had profound effects on this lackluster organization.