JohnC

It didn't take me long to turn the channel and watch the Wizards continue their 15 game home winning streak at the expense of the sorry arse Knicks. Too often the Sabres are tough to watch. My tolerance for mediocrity has gone down and my channel flipping has gone up.

What if we have another 8-8 type season again? I know what you are going to say before you will even say it: Wait until the next year. A generation has passed by with the same results. How about doing something differently by being proactive?

I would be interested to know what your draft grade was on Derek Carr? And I want to point out to the masses who are enamored with defense backs that Prescott had a second round rating from master GunnerBill yet he was able to seamlessly handle an offense as a rookie. I'm not arguing that rookie qbs should be immediate starters but I'm arguing that they should be put on the roster sooner rather than later. The wait until next year mantra has turned into wait until next generation when we can find a more appealing candidate. The fantasy of the future has turned into the futility of the present. It never freaking ends.

I certainly am.

Houston would consider giving up their first round pick for Garap.

I'm hoping the Pats win and Brady gets the MVP. When Goodell attempts to hand over the trophy I'm hoping that Brady pulls his pants down and spreads his cheeks and tells the insufferably arrogant and pompous commissioner to KMA!

Are you sure he wasn't smoking something else? If he seemed exceptionally mellow then the odds are he was partaking of a more relaxing product.

Isn't it simpler to say you agree? It's almost as if you are reluctant to publicly agree with FireChan because you are concerned with your reputation?

There was a lot of pre-draft criticism that Cook was not an appealing character. Too much was made of the fact that he wasn't voted captain. So what! He's a jerk. That doesn't mean that he won't be a good pro. Jim Kelly wasn't fully embraced by all his teammates. He didn't always act appropriately within the locker room and in public. But he grew as a person and as a leader. I disagree with you over taking Cardale over Cook. My position is the opposite. I would gladly take Cook over Cardale because he is a more finished product. (Respectful disagreement) As far as ranking qb prospects the Cowboys ranked Cook over Prescott and were very disappointed when the Raiders took him.They also ranked Lynch ahead of both of them. As you well know getting the left over Prescott worked out for them. As far as Mahomes goes I would love to have him. I wouldn't want to take him with the 10th pick. So if the Bills could trade down in the first round and get him and add some picks I would be ecstatic. As far as Cardale it is obvious that he does have intriguing tools. My problem with him is that one essential that I have for qb prospects is accuracy. If you don't have it before being drafted I'm skeptical that you will have it after being drafted. For me that is an imperative! That's the area where I have seriously disqualifying doubts about him. You and I have a fundamental disagreement that will not be closed relating to this draft year. I strenuously almost to the point of zealotry (as you are aware of) believe that there are good qb prospects in this draft that will be available to us. You say don't do it and I say do it. On this issue I am unyielding. However, I'm well aware that in this draft your view will probably prevail. The Bills will probably draft a DB and you will exalt the selection. My response would reflect much disappointment. In the end the Bills will again be an 8-8 caliber team and you will say let's wait again to next year to do what we should have done in prior years. The cycle of futility will continue on and on and you and your cohorts will say let's wait again and again. The line you are in is not the line I am in. That's okay. I'm still comfortable where I am standing in. What I can say with confidence with respect to the qb position that the Bills let reasonable opportunities go by over the past number of years that could have had a dramatic positive effect on this franchise. When an organization lacks a franchise qb and is timid in addressing that issue it has failed in its duties. This lack of urgency in addressing the position has for a generation damaged its chances of being a good team. If you don't believe me then look at the record.

Let me echo your accolades for Gunner. This was fantastic work. When reading his reports they seemed to hit the mark on the strengths and weaknesses of each qb. I 'm sure he didn't intend it but he is making me more of a zealot in pushing for taking a qb in this year's draft. So when I continue with my campaign blame him for creating this intolerable nuisance. I'm not saying this to flatter him and I mean it with sincerity that he seems to have a better grasp on how to evaluate qbs than the Bills scouting departing does.

Actually they did recognize that he was unfit after his first year. They didn't pull the plug so quickly because they didn't want to be known as the type of owners who acted rashly. Firing him after two years when he was under a lucrative five year contract was a pretty bold move. They do deserve criticism for the hire and on the other hand they deserve credit for firing him rather quickly.

And the Bills select Cardale Jones. Cook and Prescott were available in the third round last year. Instead, Whaley selected a lazy and immature DT who was constantly being chastised by his own team for being lazy and immature. What a surprise! The Bills have had plenty of opportunities to bring in good qb prospects. They let those opportunities pass them by. I'm not sure that they are capable enough to properly scout that position .

Your point about the wasted seasons is what is so infuriating about his hiring.You make a little progress and then fall back. This constant churning of coaches and philosophies keeps this franchise is a constant state of instability. It seems to never end.

How else was his stint going to end here? His record was on full display before he was hired. And yet he was selected to be our HC. That is the main story here. Rex was never known for running having a disciplined team. The Rex and his chaotic act before the hire was the same act when he was in western NY. I mostly blame the Pegulas for this ridiculous hire. And on the other hand I give the Pegulas credit for so quickly correcting such a glaring mistake. The next person who is going to be under scrutiny is Whaley. He doesn't have the excuse of having an inept coach whose philosophy doesn't mesh with his concept of roster building.

It doesn't matter where a player is ranked or what position a player plays you never know for sure if the player is going to turn out to be a good pro. So using your standard don't draft anyone because you don't know if they will be good. Odd reasoning to follow. So what if Trubisky is a three year project? Rodgers wasn't an immediate success and neither was Brees. Cousins didn't start playing until his fourth year. There is a development stage to all positions but especially for the qb position.

Bill, I also want to keep TT. Having him as a bridge qb is a reason for selecting a qb this year because it allows you time to develop the prospect instead of force feeding a player as we did with EJ. If TT should surprise everyone and become a legitimate franchise qb then that is nothing to complain about, it is something to celebrate. I don't accept the notion that you have to have a prototypical type of qb, or prototypical player for any position. You can be a good qb who works out of the pocket and you can be a good qb who plays a style such as TT does. Rodgers doesn't play a similar game to either Roethlisberg or Brady or Russell Wilson or Brees. Yet they are all premier qbs who excel on the field. I just wish this troglodyte organization would demonstrate more urgency and emphasis on finding a qb. The problem I have with many posters on this board is that they have this attitude that if the qb prospect isn't an elite prospect who is a top of the draft caliber of qb then the best approach would be to wait until next year. If there is an elite prospect or two next year we will still be a middle of the pact team that isn't in position to make the golden acquisition (as you noted). Odds are that this antiquated and unimaginative franchise is going to use a first round pick on a DB to replace Gilmore. How does that advance this team? It doesn't. My frustration level steadily rises as this organization repeats doing things that keeps them mired in the muck of mediocrity. It is exasperating!

The aged owner hiring someone who was out of the business for years and was ill-equipped for a job that he didn't really want is not a demonstration of being in tune with the tough business of football. The main attributes that appealed to the owner was familiarity and his warm personality. The person who took over after the sudden departure of Levy was a marketing specialist. The next person the owner hired was Nix. He was hired for the simple reason that he was the only person he knew on a list. When you are the owner you can do whatever you want with your business. If you don't want to believe that he wasn't out of touch with overseeing the franchise then that is your prerogative. I see it otherwise.

Great job. If Trubinsky or Watson is available when our pick comes up and neither one is selected Whaley should be charged with dereliction of duty. I wouldn't be against trading down and selecting Mahomes. I see Houston selecting him with their lower first round pick. There will be plenty of DBs available with our second round pick to choose from. Odds are that Whaley is going to select a DB. The Dick Jauron mentality of caution and timidity will continue to plague this organization. There is a reason why this franchise is irrelevant and boring.

Whether he is 6'4" or 6'1" it doesn't matter. The Dick Jauron school of thought will compel this organization to draft a DB with our first pick.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Bills trade down for additional picks and then select him. He has a strong arm, accurate passer,has touch and can make anticipatory throws. His mechanics are not tight but good coaching can straighten it out. If Trubisky is on the board when we pick and we pass on him I will be be very upset. The wait until next year mentality has turned to wait until the next generation. Drafting a CB or S in the first round in this d-back rich year makes little sense to me. You can still fill a need in the second round and have on board a potential franchise qb. I see Houston selecting Mahomes with their lower first round pick. I see the Bills again allowing other teams to seize on opportunities that we let go by.

Selecting Levy who was out of the game for years to be a GM and saying it was a moronic hire was not an after the fact opinion. The outcome of his tenure was predictable before he even started the job. Even he acknowledged that he was not equipped for the job. He took it out of loyalty to the out of touch owner. If you hire me to do brain surgery you don't have to wait to predict that I will kill a lot of people that I will work on. It would be predictable because I was grotesquely unsuited for the job I was hired for. Lynch has been involved in the business as a player and as an analyst. He is familiar and updated on the business compared to Levy who was out of the business for years when called back into duty by the owner. Levy didn't even know all the players on his team. That's why he carried 4x4 cards with him when he was walking on the practice field. That was our GM! The bottom line is that the Levy hiring as a GM was outright weird. That is not saying that Levy isn't an honorable and wonderful human being. The Lynch hiring is an out of the box hiring but there are understandable reasons, whether you agree or not, why he was hired.

The Shanahan hire has been in the works prior to the playoffs. There is no secret there. Lynch was aware of that. That is what I stated. If he felt that it wasn't an appropriate hire or a hire he couldn't work with he wouldn't have taken the job. I can't say for sure but he might have been asked for his thoughts on the coaching hire even before he was considered for the GM position? I don't think we disagree as much as it might seem. I do believe in good systems and organizational structure. But what I believe in most of all is in good people who are creative and flexible and who are good working with people. That is the essential ingredient for success. Lynch seems like a person who is not afraid or intimidated by surrounding himself with quality people who have different positions. The Tom Donahoe dictatorial approach to management is more suited for coal industry barons, not in the modern era of analytics and competing ideas. This was an intriguing hire that went beyond the standard approach to hiring GMs. For me that isn't a reason to dislike it as it is a reason to like it even more. What I liked even more is that the ownership provided the HC and GM long term contracts. That's telling the new employees to think and act with a long term basis when making decisions. That is another aspect of the hires that I think is a smart way to go.

Your post is so far misdirected I don't know if it is worth responding to. Marv is a HOF HC. No one is saying otherwise on that issue. He was an incompetent GM who was in over his head. Even he recognized it. I agree with you that it remains to be determined if the hiring of Lynch works out. What I am saying though is that it wasn't such an odd and imbecilic hire as other are making it out to be. Yes, there are people who want Jim Kelly to be hired for a similar position. I will say with no equivocation those people are dopes, at least on that issue, and not worth having a discussion with.

This isn't such an oddball selection as many are portraying it to be. He was a smart player who knows the game from a player, coaching and locker room standpoint. He has been an TV and media analyst for quite awhile. So he is familiar with the players in this league and the various schemes played by teams in the league. Simply put he knows the game. That's an asset for his job. What we don't know is his managerial abilities. From being associated with all the teams in the league through his media job he has been exposed to different organizational environments and cultures. So he should have some thought on how he would like to structure a team and an organization. Your describing this hire as crony hire makes little sense to me. He wasn't attached to anyone in the organization and weaseled his way up because he of who he knew. Lynch is well acquainted with the league and the people and players who work in it. That is a positive attribute to have for this job. Without a doubt he doesn't have experienced managing an operation but that doesn't mean he can't do it with the help of good hires to help him with that aspect of the job. San Francisco is starting over with the hiring of Shanahan. That certainly is a reasonable hire, and I'm sure he was involved with it or agreed with it. As I stated before the Lynch hire is a creative and reasonable hire. While others scoff at it I don't.

It's amusing how Buffalo fans are ridiculing the hire of Lynch as a GM. Let's review our history of GM hiring. Buffalo hired a befuddled Levy to take over as GM. After two years in a position even he was aware that he was unqualified he on his on volition walked away. For the short term Brandon the marketing man took over managing the operation. The next person hired by the inscrutable owner was Country Buddy Nix. Why was he selected from the list of candidates given to owner? His name was the only one that the owner was familiar with. Buddy was a football lifer but he was out of his element as a GM. John Lynch doesn't have front office experience. But he is a HOF player who knows the game from a player, coach and locker room standpoint. As an experienced TV analyst he knows the players and coaches in the league. Lynch is smart enough to know what he doesn't know and will find people to support his efforts. His important task is to build a quality staff and create an environment where everyone is moving in the same direction. In Buffalo does anyone really believe that Whaley and the braggadocio Buddy were in sync? This hire was a surprise hire but it is also a creative hire that goes against the crony system that is prevalent in this think alike business. Time will tell but I don't consider it a bad hire.