JohnC

Why would anyone hate him? He exercised an option clause in his contract. That's his prerogative. If a player had an option clause and he wanted to exercise it then why be angry about it? If a front office staff person was in a position to leave this franchise for another franchise and the contract allowed for it then what is wrong with that? If an OC/DC had a contract that allowed for the individual to leave for another job then what is wrong with that? Doug Marrone and the front office were not in sync. That was abundantly obvious. Not only did they not agree on personnel issues but it seemed that each side had different philosophies toward building a roster. Needless to say there were also personal conflicts that couldn't be reconciled. When a HC or a GM are in a situation that can't be accommodated then the best thing to do (right thing to do) is for one of the parties to leave. DM was in that position and he decided to exercise that option. Not only was it the right thing to do but it was the ethical thing to do. Why stay in a situation that you find untenable? There is nothing unusual in the business world about exiting such a mismatched situation. The majority of postings indicate that DM did a poor job. That's not how I see it. He got a very flawed roster (especially the offense) and it played up to its potential. He was coaching a .500 team and it played up to its level. He coached a team that had the worst OL in the league and arguably the worst starting qb in the league. He ended his tenure with a 9-7 record. What's to complain about? Doug Marrone is not a likeable person. He is arrogant, overbearing and dismissive. So what! During his short stint his teams always played hard for him. What more do you want? DM is a meat and potatoes type of coach who is not an innovator. He wasn't much of a creative coach before he came to Buffalo. He certainly wasn't hired for his brilliant schemes. For those who are harshly criticizing Marrone you need to be reminded that over the past couple of years his record was not only better than the braggadocio Ryan but that head to head he thoroughly outperformed the fired HC from NY.

SDS, Thank you and anyone else who is involved in maintaining this site. You and others do a fantastic job. Because you are a so essential to the success of this site I decided to give you a small gift expressing my appreciation. You can pick up your new Ford Bronco truck at your local dealership. Just tell the manager that the truck is a bonus gift from John. He'll know what to do with you. Thanks again.

The stadium proposed for Lancaster was the Kenford Dome. Once that got scrapped they went to the cheaper open stadium.

Revis believes that he is the best CB in the game, and he probably is. He also wants to be the highest paid CB in the league. If that is the case then his contract will be richer than Hughes's. You are right that the difference in contracts between the two won't be enough to get you an impactful TE. But it certainly can be the difference in getting you a quality guard. Most of us agree that Whaley is going to scour the market for a free agent or tradeable veteran qb. Having more flexibility with more cap space could put the Bills in a better position to intice one of the better available qb's on the market. I'm not going to dismiss the argument that having elite CBs is important. But for me my bias is toward having an elite DL, especially pass rushing DL, over upgrading the secondary. In my mind (contrary to the beliefs of many) I believe that Gilmore is on the verge of being a shut down corner. In addition, although McKelvin has atrocious ball skills I consider him to be a good CB (contrary to the views of others). As I stated in other posts our roster as it is currently constructed is too much unbalanced toward the defense. Keeping what we have will continue the great chemistry along the line with the added factor of offering a little more slack with the cap space. (My assumption is that a Revis contract is going to cost more than Hughes contract.}

From what I have read about Revis is that he wants to be the highest paid CB. Even if there isn't a great differential between their contracts the difference can still be enough to defray the cost of getting a quality guard or impactful TE. As I said in my response to Kirby our roster is very imbalanced. The offense, especially the OL, needs to be significantly upgraded. You can get a quality guard at a reasonable price. I'll take Hughes and a starting OG or possibly TE than use the money for just Revis. Don't get me wrong Revis is a great player who influences the game. But my preference leans toward having a dominant line over a dominant secondary.

Instead of adding a rich contract to acquire Revis use the allottment of money for Hughes and a quality TE. In addition, although there isn't an upper tier qb on the market having some cap leeway could help get the best veteran qb on the market. The difference to improving next year from this year is not going to be the defense, it is already well established. Also, next year a healthy Alonzo will be on the roster. The real difference-maker for this team is going to be a competent qb who will be taking the snaps. The reality is that we are not going to be the only team desperately searching for a respectable qb. Having a little extra money to offer can be the difference in getting rather than losing a qb prospect.

My preference would be spending the bulk of the money for the retention of Hughes and then adding an offensive lineman to the mix. The attention that Mario Williams garnered certainly aided Hughes's sack numbers. But the flip side of that alignment was that having Hughes on the line also assisted Mario's production. Our roster last year was very unbalanced. Our defense was stellar while our offense was very limited, especially on the line. My inclination would be to use more of the cap space to bulk up our OL and possibly add a TE who is a receiving threat. Without a doubt Rex is biased toward the defense. Without getting into his dire qbing situation in NY the lack of playmakers on offense hurt him for the past few years. Adding talent to an established upper tier defense at the expense of substantially upgrading the offense (mostly the line) would be a strategicmistake from building a more balanced roster.

The report on the investigation will come out soon. I'm confident that Alphadog will come out looking the most mature and responsble in addressing this manufactured issue. It goes without saying that your version of common sense is much different than my version. Inflating an issue out of proportion to its actual impact is not an example of exercising common sense.

Lynch is this generation's version of Earl Campbell. When he plays he is the most compelling player to watch. Next to Russell Wilson he is the most important player for Seattle. He's a great player who is beloved by his teammates.

In all but one of the balls the change in the loss of pressure was very small to the point of not being measurable. The weather and usage (spiking the ball) can change the PSI level of the ball. The measuring of the PSI is not as precise as many people believe. Measuring the ball inside a facility can give you a different reading than if you measure the balls outside. Was there a difference in the PSI level of the Colt balls compared to the Pat balls? Absolutely. Different teams (qbs) prefer different PSI levels. There is a legal range, not one established PSI level. What you and many others are doing with your fast changing accusations is that you are demanding that the Pats prove that they did not do anything wrong when the appropriate approach should be do the hate-mongerting accusers have evidence that a wrong was committed. We can go back and forth with your numerous "what if" scenarios. There is no need. There is an urgency for the league office to get this investigation finished. The results will show that there were probably some mishandling of the balls but nothing inappropriate. If mistakes were made I'm confident that they weren't nefarious in nature as many others are trying to frame it. The league is taking this issue seriously and devoting resources to the investigation because the commissioner's office mishandled prior more serious incidents. There is a lot of pressure on Goodell to get this trumped up trivial matter resolved, and do it so quickly. As I said in prior postings when the findings are rendered the honorable thing for you to do is to graciously apologize to alphadog who has handled this issue with maturity and proportion.

When the investigation is concluded odds are that nothing much out of the ordinary happened. You are so invested in your conspiracy theory that you keep manufacturing changing scenarios that buttress your imaginative conspiracy concoction. There may have been some minor inappropriate handling of the balls or maybe not. What appears (to me) what happened is that the balls were filled to the lower end of the PSI range (which is legal) and then there was a miniscule loss of pressure in almost all of the balls which can happen under normal circumstances. When the investigation is formally concluded it would be very appropriate for you and many frenzied others to apologize to alphadog because he was most right and most mature with his respones toward this very bogus issue. Winners win and losers make excuses!

Paul Hamilton and Joe B commented on WGR on multiple occasions that there were rumblings within the organization regarding EJ's struggles with accuracy during practice sessions. Although he was the recipient of a lot of criticism from the fan base Marrone saw enough of EJ during the OTAs, preseason and during the season to come to a hardened conclusion about EJ's inadequacies. No matter what Whaley's more favorable evaluation of EJ was the HC wasn't willing to sabotage the seasonand his coaching reputation with EJ as his starter. It really wasn't too difficult of a decision for himbecause he simply didn't believe in EJ's prospects as a starter in this league. When you watch some of the better qbs in the league play, especially the qbs in the playoffs, and you ask yourself whether EJ can attain that level of consistent competency a candid answer (at least for me) is probably not. EJ fits the physical profile of a qb prospect that Nix would find very appealing. But that physical attraction doesn't necessarily translate to success on the field. EJ is going to have the opportunity to compete with the qb/s brought in during the offseason for the starting job. If he wins the competition I salute him and will support him. If he doesn't then he can be a good backup.

Identifying a good qb fit in a lackluster qb market is Whaley's biggest challenge this offseason. I'm very open to any veteran qb candidate. Anyone who expects an elite qb to walk into Bills' premises this offseason is deluding themselves. If the Bills can get a lower mid-range type starter this team will be in better shape than last year's team when they entered the season. If Orton would have played at his career average level this team would have been in the playoffs, even with its porous OL. I'm open to a Chase Daniels or Kellon Moore caliber of qb added to the qb competition. If EJ can't beat out those types of players for a starting job then that is a testament to his talent level. The bottom line is that I will be willing to accept a Fitz type qb and arm who is an accurate mid-range passer.

He can't be rooting harder for the Pats than I am because I'm at the maximum level. By the way what is the obvious question?

If we had a serviceable qb taking the snaps last year this team would have been in the playoffs, even with a very vulnerable OL. Terry Pegula is taking a different approach compared to the prior owner. He is investing in staff. If your staff is making big money decisons on players and then coaching them it makes a lot of sense. The historical problem for the Bills is not so much that they didn't spend enough money on players but that they didn't do it very wisely. The over-sized contracts for mediocre players such as Derick Dockery and Langston Walker are illustrations of that point As you noted in your post the biggest challenge for Whaley this offseason is finding the best veteran qb on the market and then have EJ compete for the starter's job. This is someone else's good thought but Kellen Moore intrigues me very much. Accurate passer who knows how to read defenses. He is relatively short in stature and has at best an adequate arm but he would be an interesting player to add to the qb mix.

I'm rooting hard for the Patriots so the jealous hometown excuse-makers will be further enraged. To all those sniveling cry babies who are so consumed by this trivial issue and blowing it out of proportion you need to concentrate your energies on uplifting a mediocre franchise instead of denigrating the most successful franchise over the past generation. It is pathetic and embarrassing when losers make excuses for why they lose and why others win. When all is said and done many of the frenzied posters with their what ifs postulations(including Kelly the Dog) need to apologize to alphadog because not only has he been right on this issue but also because he has been the most mature on this issue.

I'm not touting any particular qb candidate. My point dealt with the issue of the most important traits for a qb. Someone else brought up Kellon Moore as a qb option. He is very accurate and can read defenses. He doesn't have the strongest arm but he has an adequate arm. Although he isn't tall he has a commanding presence about him.

When the discussion refers to a criminal enterprise and a Nixonian reference then this issue and the responses it has stimulated have spiraled out of control. Without meaning to be rude you have clearly lost a sense of porportion on this issue. Again, I'm not trying to demean anyone but you need to step back and take a few deep breaths before allowing yourself to be upset over an issue that is not as significant as you are making it out to be.

I appreciate your response. I understand the frenzied responses when the issue first came up. But now we are at a stage where no one knows for sure what happened or even if anything happened. Putting things in context what a lot of people fail to consider is that there is a range for PSI levels. Different teams (qbs) have different preferences. When all is said and done there is a good chance that the Pats were involved in a transgression. But odds are there is nothing unique about their possible behavior that doesn't fall within the norm of other teams' behavior. There is a backdrop story regarding this issue. It has to do with Goodell and how he grossly mishandled recent player behavior. Because he flubbed the prior cases he now feels compelled (understandably)to make sure that this issue is handled so carefully and with such great detail that a minor issue has been elevated to a major issue.

His post #2561 is an excellent response. It fairly characterizes the issue and the context. If you want to challenge him do so on the merits of his position. Attacking him personally instead of addressing his points indicates that his position is stronger than the prevailing views held by the majority of posters. His view very much conforms to my view. I find the tenor of the responses by the majority to be a reflection of jealousy by fans for a historically losing franchise. The solution is simple: Earn your own legacy by winning. Don't make excuses for why you lose and don't make excuses why others win.

Most OC's would prefer an accurate qb who has good pocket presence and understands defenses over a great athletic qb who is lacking in the other areas. Having a qb who is inaccurate is being operated by a surgeon who doesn't have steady hands. It's a trait that disqualifies you from having success. What good is extending plays if you can't consistently hit your receiver? Can an inaccurate qb be taught to be more accurate? Yes, but up to a certain point. When you watch Rodgers, Brady, Manning and Brees there is a precision level that can't be taught to someone who is an erratic passer. I agree with you that both of the qbs you mentioned are candidates to be brought in, among many others. Who the front office brings in is the most interesting offseason issue to considered. It will give you aclue on how the organization believes EJ is a viable option.

Someone else brought up Kellen Moore so I want to give that person the credit for bringing up an intriguing qb candidate who is on the Detroit roster. Attached is a link from WGR of an interview with Sam Monson of a pro site that focuses on stats. This is a 10 minute interview in which the guest makes comments about Moore at the 8:30 minute mark. Moore was a prolific passer in college whose primary negative attribute for the pro game was a limited arm strength. That doesn't necessarily mean that it disqualified him as a prospect but it set a limit at his potential. http://media.wgr550.com/a/101392175/129-sam-monson-of-pro-football-focus.htm

If EJ can beat out the qb(s) brought in then more power to him. Then at the minimum you have a good backup option. I want EJ to succeed. But it would be foolish to count on it.

If he is an accurate short to mid-range passer then he is better than what we have. If he can go through his reads quickly and know where to go with the ball then he is an upgrade. As you noted he has limitations. If he didn't have some limitations he would be an entrenched starter somewhere else. Looking back at last season if the Bills had competent play at the qb position the complexion of the season would have been much different. Does anyone have any doubt that even with average qb play the Bills would have had at least another win or possibly two games? If that would have been the case the complexion of the past season would have been seen in a much more positive light. Without a doubt there are no great options in the free agent qb market or trade market. But that doesn't mean that a solid option can't be added to the roster that will make this team more competitive. Whaley made last year's trade up for Watkins with the expectation that it would have been a difference maker for this franchise. It didn't work out the way he expected because of the void at qb. If he wants to get a better return on that Watkins deal he needs to have someone capable of getting him the ball.

No one is coveting any particular qb because the pickings are slim. All you can hope for is to find a serviceable qb who can play at an average (at best) starter level. Orton, especially playing behing such a sieve line, was horrible last year. He got worse as the season advanced. He was brought in because there was no other option on the market. If you can upgrade the position, or at the minimum, have an experienced backup qb then you are moving forward. The Bills are not going to find their longterm franchise qb this offseason, but that doesn't mean that the qb position can't be upgraded compared to last year.