JohnC

In another year or two Reinhart is going to be a center. Effectively playing in front of the net was a role that not many people expected. The attributes that stood-out when he was a prospect were his instincts and hockey intelligence. Ultimately he's going to be a distributor more than a finisher. He would be a high quality number #two center. I understand your attraction to Stamkos but there is no way that he could he fit in with the type of lucrative and length of contract he will soon command. I agree with you that Girgensons would be an ideal third center. And although Ennis has been off the shelf due to injuries his ability to score and create are still talents that this offensively challenge team needs in the not to distant future. The Moulson contract and length (I believe another two years) is going to limit the team's options. Maybe a buyout could be utilized. Not only has he dropped off the cliff but he has also vanished. He's a good guy who simply has lost it. That's a shame. .

What happened to NeverGiveUP? Wasn't he the individual who because of insider sources was able to predict the Bills first draft choice? He hasn't been around the last couple of years. Who spooked him? Beerball was that you? You can be a provocateur!

The Sabres have a good young core. I'm of the mind of just draft the best players and let them develop, even if it is in the minors for a year or so. Your O'Reilly suggestion brings up the issue whether it would be better to put O'Reilly or Eichel in the center spot if they played on the same line? I would lean toward O'Reilly as the center but each is good enough and versatile enough to play either position. O'Reilly is an interesting player. He works so hard in practice and in the games that you can see his compulsive work ethic depleting him. He is too important to sit down for a game or so but I think it would freshen up his legs if he did so. He's got to be one of the best two way players in the league. You win championships with this type of player on your roster. The stats don't tell you how valuable he is to the team.

Before coming to Buffalo Rex Ryan had a six year stint in NY. He had a losing record. His last year there he coached a four win team. His first year in Buffalo was less than stellar. It is not unreasonable to say that the team underachieved. I have enough information to make a a fair judgment. The coach the Bills hired is the coach they got. That is very disappointing. . In Texas there is a saying regarding flamboyant talkers who don't produce: Big hat-- No cattle!

Teams are built differently. What is known for sure is if your team is built around its defense (exhibited by its cap resources) and you don't utilize the talent properly you diminish your chances for success. The same logic applies to the offense. If you have a very good qb you need a good OL to protect the qb and you need good receivers to get a good return/production from your qb. The Broncos coaching staff recognized that this particular team's core strength was built around its defense, especially around its pass rush. Even the offense was smartly subordinated to the defense. It stressed field position and not turning the ball over. My point being is that they knew what their team identity was and they played to it. It was apparent to all, including himself, that Peyton is a shadow of what he once was. But even in this diminished stage of his career he still played smartly. He understood his more limited role and accepted it. What it comes down to is coaching matters i.e. smart coaching. The Broncos had it and the Bills didn't . The difference between smart coaching and dumb coaching is stark. When you have a coach who is more noted for his bluster and antics than his coaching prowess the outcome is predictable, a team watching the playoffs from its own sofas instead of being participants.

Compare the defenses under Pettine and Schwartz to Rex's with similar personnel? Having talent is one thing and using it properly is another. Good coaches allow the talent to be expressed. While coaches like Rex want their players to express what he wants to do. Complicating a simple concept is not the smart thing to do.

The more I watched this game the more I seethed at what Rex did to our defense. What Wade Phillips did wasn't brilliant---it was simply fundamentally sound. He took the talent he had, especially on the DL, and he allowed them to focus on what they did well i.e. attack. The defenders stayed in their lanes to stifle the run but the focal point for the defense was to rush the qb and put pressure on him. Common sense 101. What Rex did was not only devise a strategy to undercut his defense's strength, the same defense that excelled for two different DCs, he used a strategy that exposed our LBs limitations to a greater extent. Or another way of putting it Rex minimized our strengths and maximized our vulnerabilities.(as noted by PTR) How stupid can you get? What's even more aggravating is that Rex had the opportunity to hire Pettine as hs DC or put him on the staff. to work with the defense. Instead he hires his frequently fired brother. Pettine worked with Rex in NY. So they had a relationship. So what's next? We wait for this cycle of incompetence to run it's course and then start over. The hiring of Rex was worse than a bad hire, it was a peculiar hire. For the Rex defenders I have one recommendation: Watch the games before Rex and after Rex. If you can't see what is so obvious then you are blind or delusional. Wade Phillips is a bore when comparing personalities to the demonstrative Rex. When it comes to coaching Rex is a pygmy compared to the low-key Phillips. In the end substance always trumps style. When you hire a huckster you get a huckster!

You bring up an interesting issue: Who on this roster or outside additions would be good line mates for Eichel?

It's difficult having conversations with people who make up their own fictitious scenarios. In my response to the poster you responded to I tried to point out that RI's behavior certainly wasn't very mature, but it fell within the boundaries (actually a little too far) of normal locker room exchanges. Martin was uncomfortable with not only the locker room environment but in general the pro football scene. There is a solution to that problem. Get out of it if it debilitates you so much. There is no doubt that Incognito had his own personal/emotional/psychological issues to contend with. And so did Martin. But I strongly believe that Incognito had no malicious intent in how he treated JM. In fact after Martin made the bullying claim and it went public RI tried to get in touch with JM to make sure he was okay. Richard Incognito didn't intend to bully Martin. But that is not to say that he acted appropriately or smartly in this saga. Being dumb and clueless is far different from being malicious. Unsurprisingly, the league for public relations reasons made him the poster child for bullying . From that standpoint Richie was treated unfairly and had his career placed in jeopardy. Yes RI was clueless but it wasn't right to make him a scapegoat. In the end RI turned this tumultuous situation into a positive experience. He went through counseling and he seems to be a better and happier person. I salute him for that.

When you watch the Sabres play good teams they are keeping up with them. Obviously, they lack the scoring. But there are few games in which they are overwhelmed or clearly the inferior team. As I said in prior posts I originally thought Murray shouldn't have given up a first round pick for Lehner. After recently watching him I now understand why he gave up the first round pick. He's big, highly competitive and he seems to be moving with more control and efficiency. He may be our long term #1 goalie. With that position you never know. Someone who looks exceptional can then fall off the cliff. The one player I really feel bad for is Moulson. What a dreadful season for him. He looks lost and desperate. The coach has tried a variety line combinations to get him going. Nothing is working. The effort is there but watching him you can see a depressed player. Would love to see him connect.

For the most part the players (near unanimous) did not agree with the characterization that Incognito bullied Martin. No one is saying that Incognito acted appropriately or smartly. The situation escalated because Martin didn't seem capable of handling the needling and interaction with Incognito. That is a far cry from the general characterization that RI was maliciously bullying Martin. Incognito didn't act out of mailce; he acted out of stupidity. In the aftermath of this sordid ordeal the two troubled individuals received mental health counseling to help them get back on the path to a more healthy life. I don't know what happened to Martin but the counseling seems to have helped RI. With respect to the Wells report I don't accept anything Wells does as being independent from the league. If you believe that he is an objective party in any investigation that he does on behalf of the league then go back to his work in the deflategate saga where the judge in that case essentially mocked and shredded the report. Wells is very aware of the outcome the league wants before he does his investigations and he then dutifully delivers it. The net result is he repeatedly receives a generous payment from his well endowed client.

The mistake you are making is that you are giving credibility to Wells who in reality is not conducting an independent investigation. It is acting on behalf of the league. Wells knows what outcome the league wants before he starts his investigation. He then delivers it. He gets handsomely paid for delivering what the league wants delivered. The Wells report in this case had as much credibility as the Wells report did in deflategate. The Wells report in the Brady case was shredded and mocked in court. Incognito certainly didn't act appropriately in the Miami case but the portrayal of him was not a fair portrayal. The players in Miami sided with Incognito. Martin was a troubled person who couldn't handle and deal with the juvenile locker-room antics. Incognito certainly wasn't an angel in the Miami situation. He acted as a dense ranting juvenile. As idiotic as he behaved he didn't act out of malice. Which is the underpinning of bullying.

Not only was he our best offensive lineman he was one of the best guards in the league. Incognito was far from being a total innocent in the Miami/Martin saga. But after the storm died down from the initial reporting of the problems in Miami and a fuller and more accurate presentation of the situation was given Incognito turned out to be unfairly portrayed and one of the biggest victims coming out of that situation. The contemptible and corrupt commissioner made him a scapegoat and a symbol of bullying because he wanted to protect the shield. The problem was that it was an unfair characterization of what really happened. I'm happy for Incognito. He worked hard to be a better person and player. He deserves to be rewarded for his efforts.

There are no stories that I can come up with that suggested that the organization was trying to induce him to leave. That is not to say that everyone was fond of him and his prickly personality. Everyone in the organization was very surprised that he decided to leave. As far as I know the HC told no one within the organization that he was contemplating leaving. What is suggested in the majority of stories that did come out after the decision is that Marrone believed that he had options once he left the Bills. He miscalculated and ended up on the outside. http://www.fingerlakesdailynews.com/news/details.cfm?id=157969#.VrSoLxGwUlI http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-around-the-nfl/0ap3000000452530/Evans-on-Marrone-This-one-leaves-me-scratching-my-head http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000452645/article/eric-davis-doug-marrone-quit-on-buffalo-bills

I agree with you that it is still too early to come to a conclusive judgment on Lehner as a #1 goalie. But in the few games post his injury you can see the ability that made him appealing to the GM. I thought Ullmark showed signs that eventually he could develop into a NHL goalie. But as you suggested making early judgments on goalies can make you look foolish. That is why I think EL is going to get a lot a playing time for the rest of the season. The organization wants to find out sooner rather than later in what they have with him.

They don't have to be a last place team to come up with a very good prospect this year. I understand your sentiment because I would also love to be in position for a top pick.But it would also be pleasant to see some of that young talent contribute to more wins. . It will be interesting to see what the GM does at the trade deadline. Murray is fun to follow because he is not afraid to make deals and act on his convictions. I thought it was a mistake to give up a first round pick for the goalie, Leonard. After seeing him in a few games since he returned I'm happy to say that I am wrong about the deal. Without a doubt the Sabres are on an upswing and they are fun to watch.

When the Pegulas took over the team they wisely were not going to give out extensions to anyone. If Whaley would have been as foolish as was Marrone to ask for an extension he also would have been told no. The new owners were in an assessment mode. They didn't let Marrone quit---he quit on his own accord. It was Marrone who invoked the buyout option clause in his contract. The Pegulas had no choice but to abide by the terms of the contract.

Robey on WGR talking about the Montreal game and Wideman punishment. 10 min. segment. http://media.wgr550.com/a/112998965/2-4-robey-radio-sabres-win-in-mtl.htm

They both reported to Brandon but from a football operation standpoint Whaley was Marrone's boss in that he had the responsibility for assembling the roster and the HC worked (coached) the roster presented to him. The problem between the two had little to do with where they stood within the official organizational chart. In any system the GM and the HC have to have a good working relationship. How they handle their differences and work together is more important than who is higher or lower in rank. As the CBS link on post#153 indicates the more the Jets did with respect to "due diligence" the more troubled they were with him as a candidate. He was difficult to work with in an organizational setting and wherever he worked he was not liked. There is a smugness and arrogance to this puffed up man who most people find repugnant. I believe that he thought through the influence of his agent who was making backdoor inquiries that he was the favored candidate for the Jets job. He miscalculated. Within the NFL world that miscalculation is going to haunt him for a long time. That is why I believe he will end up in the college ranks again. Marrone was not happy in Buffalo. His was checking out other options He was also a silent and top tier candidate for the Univ. of Michigan job. Once Harbaugh declared his interest for that job Marrone lost another option. Would I prefer Marrone over Rex as a HC? Absolutely! The team was on the upswing in his two year tenure. I have little regard for Rex and his mouthy style. Regardless if Marrone would have stayed his tenure with the Bills was not going to be a long term duration. DM is an arrogant priiiick who will always cause rancor within any organization. With this type of person who possesses so many unappealing traits the departure date is always in the pipeline.

Someone brought it up regarding how his unexpected departure affected the organization. I'm not fine with someone who is far from being the smartest person in the room thinking it and acting as if he is. That is a source of his stubbornness and lack of adaptability.Why do you think that the defense's ranking plummeted under his guidance? I'm not trying to be mean-spirited but his coaching of the defense last season was some of the dumbest coaching I have ever seen since I have been a Bills fan. And I go way back!

I thought you might be interested in Alan Fanaca's physical exploits post career. He remade his body and worked on improving his health post NFL career. http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/4840/faneca-goes-the-extra-miles-in-new-life

Thanks for the info.

I really believe that Doug Marrone believed that he was going to get the job with the Jets. I'm sure his agent made inquiries that indicated that he had a good chance for the Jet position. However, the Jets did their due diligence. It became very apparent that at all his stops there were people who were more than willing to point out his flaws, much of them having to do with his authoritarian style and prickly personality. In every organization he worked he was disliked. His disagreeable personality traits came back to haunt him. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/24934962/all-signs-pointing-to-doug-marrone-as-next-jets-coach Pettine worked for Rex in NY. If I'm not mistaken he was his DC. Pettine's scheme was not the same as Schwartz's scheme. Yet both coaches with different systems (not dramatically different) were smart enough to develop their respective defenses to suit the talent on their roster. Both defenses were ranked very high. That was not the case with Rex. You are wrong that Pegula could have held on to Marrone for the simple fact that Marrone basically quit the organization by invoking a buyout clause in his contract. Schwartz was asked to stay on by Rex. He said no.

You make a keen observation about the ramifications of Marrone's unexpected departure. I suspect that there was more friction between Marrone and Whaley that was already publicly known. DM probably felt that the friction with Whaley was irreconcilable and that his long term prospects with Whaley as his boss, was not good. Marrone knew that the new owner was going to wait another year before deciding on whether to offer him an extension. So he took a buyout when his extension request was denied with the expectation that he was a serious backdoor candidate for the Jets job. The rumor was that the Jets retreated from a tacit agreement with him because of the fear of being accused of tampering, which it was. The end result is that Doug miscalculated and that miscalculation is going to follow him for a long time in the NFL. That is why I believe that his next head coaching job will be in the college ranks.

Terrific post. He was a one many revolution. His coaching tree (as you point) demonstrates how influential he was to the next generation of coaches. You are astute and perspicacious!